The Oglethorpe men's basketball team played very well for 20 minutes Friday night in an extremely fast-paced game at Dorough Field House, outscoring the visiting Rhodes Lynx by nine points from the 10-minute mark of the first half through the 10-minute mark of the second. However, the visitors used an outstanding effort in the game's opening 10 minutes and closing 10 minutes to help them to a 104-84 victory. The loss dropped the Stormy Petrels to 5-12 on the season overall and 2-4 in SAA play.
The Petrels actually outshot the Lynx, converting at a 46 percent rate to their opponents' 44. However, Rhodes forced 34 Oglethorpe turnovers with their high-pressure style, resulting in 18 more total shots than the Petrels and seven more made shots. Both teams shot well from long distance, as Rhodes converted at a 44 percent clip to Oglethorpe's 43 percent. The Petrels shot 61 percent from the free throw line to 44 percent for Rhodes and outscored the visitors 44-20 on the fast break. They also outrebounded Rhodes 49-45.
Senior guard Mike Turner had another fine game for the Petrels off the bench, scoring 19 points on 7-of-10 from the field overall and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. He also contributed 6 assists. Freshman forward Justin Hughes got his second consecutive start and scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Sophomore center Tom Inungu collected 10 rebounds to go with 9 points on 3-of-5 from the field.
After the Petrels scored the opening basket, Rhodes went on a 27-9 run over the next nine minutes to build a 27-11 lead midway through the first half. The Petrels cut it to 13 points, but a 7-3 mini-run gave Rhodes a 20-point lead with 7:04 left until the break. The two teams traded baskets from there, with Rhodes leading by as many as 21 with 2:31 left. However, Oglethorpe closed the half on a 9-2 spurt to make it 51-37 at the break, giving themselves a chance.
The Petrels continued their momentum into the second half. After Rhodes pushed it out to 54-37 early, Oglethorpe responded with a 16-7 stretch over the next five minutes to cut the visitors' lead to just eight points, 61-53, with 14:43 to go. After Rhodes pushed their lead back out to 13, an 8-2 mini-run got Oglethorpe back to within seven, 70-63, with 10:48 left.
They would get no closer, however. Rhodes closed the game out by outscoring Oglethorpe 34-21 over the remaining 10 minutes.
"We just didn't handle their press well at all," said Oglethorpe head coach Philip Ponder. "You have to either take care of the ball or finish layups, but we couldn't do either tonight. Their opponents have been shooting 36 free throws a game against them, but we couldn't get to the free throw line tonight. They play a different style for sure, and it took us about 10 minutes to adjust. The last 10 minutes of the first half and the first 10 minutes of the second half, we outscored them by nine and cut their lead to seven, and I thought we had started to figure them out. But then we started turning it over again, particularly on inbound situations. We have to put this one behind us and look to rebound on Sunday."
The Petrels will return to Dorough Field House to take on Hendrix Sunday at 2 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear gold to that day's games for the Coaches vs. Cancer event taking place, benefitting childhood cancer victims. All gate proceeds will be donated to the Sam Robb Fund for pediatric cancer research and outreach.