The men's basketball team lost to Birmingham-Southern in Birmingham on Sunday evening, 87-79. The Petrels shot the ball extremely well (55%) but turned it over too much (19 TO's) en route to their first SCAC loss of the season.

The Petrels fell behind the Panthers 16-5 with 12:56 to play in the first half before using a 34-15 run to take a 39-31 lead with only 27 seconds to play in the half. The Panthers closed the stanza with a pair of free throws and a buzzer-beating three to send the teams into the half with OU leading 39-36.

Oglethorpe led the Panthers by 7 (60-53) midway through the second half and were still on top 66-61 with 6:20 remaining before Birmingham-Southern made a decisive run to seal the game. The Panthers outscored the Petrels 19-5 to open up an 80-71 lead after a Panther three ball with just 1:27 to play capped the game-sealing run.

The Petrels were 24 of 44 from the field (55%) and 10 of 22 (46%) from downtown but committed 19 costly turnovers while dishing only 10 assists in the loss. Oglethorpe was 13 of 19 from the field for an incredible 68% in the first half but could not separate from a Panther team that made 10 of 24 from three and shot 53% for the game. Ultimately, Birmingham attempted 14 more shots than the Petrels on the evening to provide the difference.

Joe Kennedy made all 10 of his free throw attempts on his way to leading the Petrels with 21 points. Alec Pitts added 18 points and Branden Jovaag netted 11 in the loss. Senior Todd Ward posted 8 points and 7 rebounds.

Oglethorpe is now 6-6 (2-1) on the season and will host DePauw this Friday at 8:00 p.m.