The Oglethorpe men's basketball team was outrebounded 49-29 by the visiting Piedmont Lions Tuesday evening at Dorough Field House, and was outscored 46-35 in the second half, turning an 8-point Oglethorpe lead late in the first half into an 81-67 Piedmont victory. The defeat dropped the Stormy Petrels to 3-6 on the season heading into the holiday break.

Piedmont outrebounded Oglethorpe 14-2 on the offensive glass and 26-13 overall in the second half. The Petrels held the Lions to 44 percent from the field overall and 35 percent from 3-point range, but they shot just 41 percent from the field themselves. They did convert at a 39 percent clip from beyond the arc and at 71 percent from the foul line.

The Petrels got a solid individual effort from senior forward Drew Patrick, who scored 21 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting and 2-of-2 from the line. He also grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds. Senior guard George Andino finished his evening with 17 points on 7-of-13 from the field and 3-of-7 from long range, passing out 4 assists in the process. Junior guard Justin Edwards put up some solid numbers, as well, scoring 13 points and dishing out 4 assists of his own.

The two teams went back and forth for the game's opening 15 minutes, with neither team able to build a lead larger than four points. However, the Petrels began to get some momentum going late in the period, outscoring Piedmont 11-3 over a 3-minute stretch and building a 28-20 lead, their largest of the game, with 3:27 left in the half. The Lions fought back, though, outscoring Oglethorpe 15-4 over the remainder of the half and taking a 35-32 lead into the break.

Oglethorpe stopped the Piedmont momentum after the break, trading baskets with the visitors over the first seven minutes of the period. The game was tied 44-44 with 12:58 remaining. However, Piedmont soon began another run, and this would turn the game in their favor.

They outscored the Petrels 22-8 over the next 4:40 and built a 66-52 advantage with 8:03 remaining in the game. After three straight points from Edwards, the Lions began the run which put the game away.  They outscored the home team 10-3 over a 2:50 stretch to push out to a 17-point lead, 76-59, with 2:47 left. The Petrels would get no closer than 13 after that.

"We got whipped on the boards tonight," said Oglethorpe head coach Philip Ponder, "and that was the story of this game. That's two games in a row where we've been beaten badly on the glass. You can't beat teams when you are getting outrebounded by 20. If we don't turn that around, it will be a long season."

The Petrels were outrebounded 48-25 by Covenant in their last official game on Dec. 6. (The exhibition game against Mercer took place on Dec. 7.)

"We're banged up right now with a ton of injuries," Ponder continued, "but if the guys on the floor step up, we can turn this season for the better. Hopefully, a little time off will help, and we can start to get healthy."

The Petrels will get a week off for the holidays before returning to host the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Classic Thursday, Dec. 29, and Friday, Dec. 30, at Dorough Field House. They'll take on Methodist at approximately 6 p.m. on Dec. 29 and Stevenson at approximately 4 p.m. on Dec. 30. Conference rival Sewanee will serve as the fourth team, and goes against Stevenson and Methodist at 4 and 2 p.m. on Dec. 29 and 30, respectively.