Oglethorpe University

SEWANEE, Tenn. – The Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels began the 2022-23 season with a 65-47 victory against Covenant College in a neutral game at Sewanee's Lon Varnell Classic. 

Oglethorpe headed into the new season, Head Coach Philip Ponder's 19th season, ranked fourth in the conference preseason poll and played like one of the top-rated teams in the Southern Athletic Association. The Petrels have several strong returning players, and many promising freshmen on the roster this year.

"This year is going to be very different than last year, with a lot of new faces, and the scoring effort is going to be a collaborative effort," Ponder state. "We only had one guy in double figures tonight, but we had 12 guys in the scoring column. A lot of guys played their first collegiate minutes, and I thought they stepped up."

Senior Uba Ezigbo was Oglethorpe's leader in this game, recording 11 points, two steals and one assist. Fellow senior Ryan Jenei recorded nine points and one assist, and freshman Mason Kemp seven points, three assists and one steal. Additionally, Chris Feeny, Malachi Dooley and Jordan James all scored six points each.

In the first half, the Petrels struggled to find their footing as the Scots were able to get ahead 11-5 in the first five minutes.

"I thought we had a shaky first eight minutes, but then we settled down and I thought we played a really good game on both sides of the court for the last 30 or 32 minutes," said Ponder. 

Oglethorpe was able to get back on track after Jackson Kemp made his first collegiate basket. From there, the Petrels went on a 16-0 run to bring the score to 23-18 with less than six minutes on the clock. Oglethorpe finished the first half strong, with a 12-0 run to bring the score up to 35-23.  

After the halftime break, Covenant was antsy to set the score back in their favor. After the Scots made a three pointer, the Stormy Petrels went on another 12-0 run to bring the score up to 49-26. The Petrels and the Scots would go back and forth, but Oglethorpe held on to the decent lead. With two minutes still on the clock, Ezigbo made a final layup to push the Petrels to their final score of 65-47.   

"It's good to get this first one under our belt, but we have to be ready to go tomorrow in what looks like will be a really crazy game in terms of style of play," Ponder stated.

Game Notes: 

• Oglethorpe is now 5–4 against Covenant since 2011. 
• Covenant tied for fourth in the Collegiate Conference of the South preseason poll.  
• All eight freshmen made their collegiate debuts for the Petrels. 
• Overall, the team made four blocks and seven steals.  

Up Next: 

The Sewanee neutral games continue as the Stormy Petrels face Warren Wilson Saturday at 3 p.m. Oglethorpe's first home game will be Friday, Nov. 18, at 6 p.m. against Transylvania University.  

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