BREVARD, N.C. - After a hard fought battle, the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels ultimately fell 96-82 to the Brevard Tornadoes.  

 

Ten Petrels made their way into the scoring column, with three in double digits. Dylan Bennifield led with a career high 17 points while Jordan James and Uba Ezigbo followed with 15 points each, a career high for James.  
 

Oglethorpe began with high hopes as James got the ball rolling with a successful layup. The Tornadoes quickly tied the score, and then blew past the Petrels to take the lead they would hold for the rest of the game. Oglethorpe battled to keep up with Brevard, and despite James' two made free throws in the final seconds of the period, the Petrels headed into halftime down 42-37.  

 

After halftime, James started things off with two free throws to edge the Petrels closer to tying the score. Once again, Oglethorpe kept fighting as Brevard continued to hold the lead. The Petrels seemed to be getting back on the right track in the final minutes, but ultimately fell 96-82.  

 
"In the first half, our turnovers killed us, and in the second half, we just could not get stops," said Head Coach Philip Ponder. "Normally, if you score 82 points and shoot the percentages that we did, you expect to get a win. We just have a long way to go on the defensive end right now, but we will keep working."
 

Overall, the Petrels recorded a 46.7% field goal percentage, a 40.0% 3-point percentage and an 81.8% free throw percentage.   

 

While everyone heads home for the holidays, the Stormy Petrels will jet off to Honolulu for the Hoops in Hawaii Holiday Classic. Oglethorpe will face Principia College on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 4 p.m., ET and Gallaudet University on Monday, Dec. 19, at 4 p.m. ET. The Petrels will return home to finish out 2022 with the Jack Berkshire Classic, taking on Brevard once again on Thursday, Dec. 29, at 4 p.m., and then LaGrange on Saturday, Dec. 30, at 4 p.m.  

 

Multimedia