The Oglethorpe men's basketball team remained in what is now a four-way tie for first place in the SAA Friday night in Tennessee, holding off the homestanding Sewanee Tigers 77-75 to improve to 9-6 on the year overall and 3-1 in SAA play.
Up 40-34 at the halftime break, the Stormy Petrels traded baskets with the home side early in the second period, but went on a 10-1 run over 1:35 to take a 53-42 lead with just under 15:45 remaining. The 11-point advantage served as Oglethorpe's largest lead, which they matched a couple more times. While trading baskets with the Tigers over a 5-minute stretch, they still led by 11 points, 61-50, with just over 11 minutes remaining. Sewanee immediately went on a 10-0 run to cut it to 61-60 with 7:20 on the clock, though, setting up a tight battle down the stretch. The home side got within a point at the 5:30 mark, as well, but they never tied the game in the final 10 minutes. The Petrels pulled back out to a 7-point lead, 72-65, with 3:40 to go. With Sewanee down by 3 points and under a minute to go, junior guard Lane Foster converted on a free throw to put his team up 76-72 with 25 seconds left, then another to put them up by 5 points with 15 seconds left.
Sewanee landed the first big punch in the first half, embarking on a 13-4 run to take a 23-13 lead with 9:30 left until halftime. The Petrels immediately scored 8 straight to make it 23-21, though the Tigers pushed it back to a 27-21 game with 6:45 left in the period. From there, Oglethorpe finished the half on a 19-7 run to flip the script and take a 40-34 lead into the break.
Junior guard Dimetri Chambers again led the Petrels, this time pouring in 29 points on 10-of-14 from the field, 5-of-8 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Junior forward Josh Cammon added another double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds while converting on 6 of 7 free throw attempts. Foster finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists on 6-of-10 from the foul line.
The Petrels shot 50 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from the 3-point line. They held the Tigers to 42.3 percent shooting.
"This was a great win tonight," said Oglethorpe head coach Philip Ponder. "Anytime you can get a round win in conference play, it's huge. This team has really been playing well the last two-and-a-half games. I loved our intensity, and the offense continues to get better. We'll enjoy this tonight but we'll have to get focused tomorrow for a tough game on Sunday."
That game will be against Centre in Danville, Kentucky. Tipoff is set for Sunday at 3 p.m.