The Oglethorpe men's basketball team had a tough day in Danville, Kentucky, Sunday, falling to the homestanding Centre Colonels 75-59. That result means that the Stormy Petrels finish the regular season with a record of 11-14 overall and 6-8 in Southern Athletic Association play. That mark secures them sole possession of fourth place in the league headed into next weekend's SAA Tournament. The Petrels have now finished fourth or better in each of the 8-team SAA's four years in existence.
The Petrels fell behind early as they shot 33 percent in the opening half of play to Centre's 50 percent. They shot better in the second half, converting at a 38 percent rate, but the Colonels shot 56 percent in the second half, holding off any Petrel comeback attempt.
The Petrels got off to a very early lead in the contest, taking a 5-1 edge on a 3-pointer from junior guard Connor Smith. After back-to-back Centre baskets, though, Oglethorpe never led again. The Colonels went on a 14-0 run over the next 4:40 to build a 15-5 advantage with 14:01 remaining in the half. The two teams traded baskets for a couple minutes, then the Petrels went on an 8-0 run over the next 1:30 to cut the Centre lead down to three points, 21-18, with 8:41 left in the half. The Petrels still trailed by three points, 25-22, with 3:07 left, but made three 3-pointers in their next four trips to push out to a 36-23 lead with four seconds remaining in the half. A 3-pointer from junior guard George Andino at the buzzer made the score 36-26 at halftime.
Early in the second half, Oglethorpe scored seven consecutive points to cut the Centre lead back down to five points, 38-33, with 17:10 remaining. Four straight points from sophomore guard Chris Lawrence a minute or so later cut the Colonel lead to 41-37 with 16:17 remaining. The home team embarked on a pair of runs, though, making three straight 3-pointers to push their advantage out to 13 points. A run of six straight points after that suddenly pushed the Colonels to a 56-40 lead with 11:49 left. A 7-point run by the Petrels got them back to within single digits with 11:06 left. The home team finished off the game with a 19-8 run, though, building a 75-55 lead with 2:05 remaining.
Individually, the Petrels saw Andino lead the team with 15 points and 3 assists. Smith led the team with 6 rebounds and scored 13 points on 3-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Lawrence added 11 points on 3-for-9 from the field, 3-for-7 from 3-point range, and 4 rebounds.
The Petrels ended the game shooting 36 percent from the field, 32 percent from 3-point range, and 70 percent from the free throw line. Centre, by comparison, shot 53 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point range, and 75 percent from the free throw line. The Colonels outrebounded the Petrels 39-26. Oglethorpe did force 12 Centre turnovers and only committed 6 themselves. As a result, the Petrels outscored Centre 20-8 off turnovers. However, the Colonels outscored the Petrels 29-9 off the bench.
"Centre was just better than us today," said Oglethorpe head coach Philip Ponder. "They are just so big, and they shot the ball extremely well while we didn't have a great shooting day. We finished the season playing the top three conference teams on the road, so it's been a tough stretch."
"This has been a down year for us," Ponder continued, "but I'm proud of this team fighting through a lot of adversity this year and still finishing in the top half of the league. It's been a great group to be around. Everyone is 0-0 now, and we are looking forward to next weekend's tournament."
After their fourth-place finish, the Petrels earn the No. 4 seed in the upcoming SAA Tournament. They'll take on No. 5 seed Berry in the quarterfinals Friday in Birmingham, Alabama. The start time of the game is yet to be announced. The Vikings swept the Petrels in the season series, winning a couple of tight games in December and January by a combined seven points.