The men's basketball team beat Centre College on Sunday afternoon on Pinholster Court, 64-59. The Petrels used an active 2-3 zone to flummox the Colonels into 7 of 35 shooting from long distance and hand Centre their first SCAC defeat of the season.

In what has become a customary closely fought battle with Centre, Oglethorpe played all but one possession of the game in a 2-3 zone that paid off with the victory. The Colonels were 22 of 66 from the field (33%) and struggled mightily from downtown en route to their first SCAC loss. The Colonels managed to hold a lead throughout the first half and halfway through the second thanks to tenacious offensive rebounding (21 for the game) that gave them a 20-3 edge in second chance points.

The Colonels built a 50-43 lead midway through the second half before Oglethorpe called timeout and went on a furious spurt to take control of the game. Todd Ward scored 2 of his game-high 22 points on a reverse lay-up on the possession following the timeout and then forced a steal on the ensuing Colonel inbounds play. Joe Kennedy hit an open Alex Richey for a three-ball and suddenly momentum started shifting in the Petrels direction. After a defensive stop the Petrels scored again to knot the game and then take the lead on the next trip down on a perfectly stroked three from Richey. From there the Petrels did the little things down the stretch, including getting two made free throws from Kennedy with 4 ticks remaining, to provide the final margin and prevent a Centre comeback.

Oglethorpe was 26 of 52 from the field (50%) and made 5 of 11 three-balls (45.5%) to shake off Saturday's tough loss to DePauw. Ward added 7 rebounds to go with his game-high point total and Richey nailed 4 of 5 from downtown en route to 19 points and 5 boards to help lift the Petrels to victory.

The men are now 7-7 (3-2) on the season and will face Southwestern this Friday night at 8:00 p.m. on Pinholster Court.