The Oglethorpe men's basketball team closed out their 2019 with a tight, hard-fought game against the visiting Brevard Tornados as part of the Holiday Inn Express Classic, but they fell 67-64 in the final minute. The defeat dropped the Stormy Petrels to 6-6 on the season.

The Petrels took an 11-5 lead over the Tornados at the 13:20 mark of the first half, but Brevard answered with a 20-0 run over a 5-minute stretch to take a 25-11 lead with 7:50 left. Oglethorpe answered with a 10-0 run over 2:50 to fight back into the game and pull to within a pair, 25-23, with 5 minutes left in the opening half of play. The visitors led by as many as 6 points late in the half, 34-26 with 8 seconds left. The Petrels trailed 34-28 at the break.

Brevard seemed to keep Oglethorpe at arm's length for the majority of the second half, still leading 60-49 with 4:50 remaining in the contest. However, the Petrels began a big run at that point, outscoring the Tornados 12-0 over 2:30 and taking a 61-60 lead with 2 minutes left on a 4-point play by junior guard Lane Foster. The Petrels didn't score again for over 1:50, though, and Brevard pushed out to a 66-61 lead with 10 seconds left. Foster hit a one-handed, running 3-pointer with 6 seconds remaining to make it 66-64. The Tornados made 1 of 2 free throws at the other end, giving Oglethorpe a chance. However, Foster's desperation 3-pointer came up short at the buzzer.

Junior guard Dimetri Chambers led the Petrels with 23 points, five assists and six steals. Foster finished with 11 points on 3-of-5 from long distance, while sophomore guard Carlos Sone added 14 points and four steals on 3-of-5 from 3-point range.

Oglethorpe forced 23 Brevard turnovers, but committed 18 themselves and gave up an 18-3 advantage in second-chance points. The Petrels stayed in the game on the fast break, outscoring the Tornados 28-5 in the category. The home side shot just 36.8 percent from the field and 57.9 percent from the free throw line.

The Petrels quickly return to action after the turn of the year, getting back into SAA play on Friday with an 8 p.m. tilt against Hendrix at Dorough Field House.