The Oglethorpe University men's basketball team beat Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee on Sunday afternoon, 86-72. The Petrels used three separate scoring spurts of 10 or more unanswered points to build a 29 point first half advantage and cruised to an easy road victory.

The Petrels began throwing knock-out blows at the 17:07 mark of the first half when they turned a 7-6 deficet into a 17-7 lead after 11 straight points. The run began with back-to-back three-pointers from Wade Weldon and Alex Richey, continued with a driving bucket from Weldon, and was capped by a deep three-ball from E.C. Williams with 14:06 left in the first.

After the Lynx scrambled to make the score 20-12 with 12:09 to play the Petrels landed a second haymaker over the next four minutes of clock time, outscoring Rhodes this time with 12 straight points. Like the first spurt this one began with a three-pointer, this time by  freshman Christian Molinet. His three was followed by a bucket in the paint by Erik Strong, a jumper by Weldon, another long distance bomb from Richey and ended with a lay-up by Todd Ward. By now the scoreboard read 32-12 and the rout was on.

For good measure Oglethorpe added another 12-0 spurt from the 6:42 mark to the 3:26 mark to build a gaudy 29 point 46-17 first half lead. The final uppercut was keyed by freshman Tyler Cerone who forced three steals in that span and capped the outburst with a three-pointer from the top of the key.

With a 50-24 halftime lead the Petrels had the luxury of playing all 15 players that dressed for the game. With 9 players getting more than 10 minutes of clock time and no starter playing more than 26 minutes in the road laugher, Oglethorpe was comfortably able to vanquish their recent road demons to lift their SCAC record to 3-6 away from Pinholster Court.

The Petrels shot 49% (33-68) and dished 21 assists versus only 10 turnovers in the contest. Oglethorpe also forced 17 Lynx turnovers and had 11 steals in the win.

Alex Richey led 5 Petrels in double figures with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Weldon recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while dishing 4 assists and Ward notched 10 points and 6 boards. Joe Kennedy posted 12 points and 5 assists and Cerone scored 10 by making 4 of 5 field goals.

Oglethorpe is now 12-9 on the season and 7-6 in SCAC play. The Petrels return home to face Centre College this Friday at 8:00 p.m. on Pinholster Court.