ROME, Ga. – The top two teams in the Southern Athletic Association faced off Wednesday night with the regular-season title on the line, and while the finish lived up to the billing, Oglethorpe came up on the short end of a 62-58 decision against Berry.

With the result, Oglethorpe secured the No. 2 seed for the SAA tournament with a final regular-season record of 17-7, 11-3 SAA.

Oglethorpe beat Berry 83-80 with a 6-2 run in the final minute of the conference opener back in December but suffered in this one from an 11-0 Berry run during a five-minute stretch midway through the second half. It swung a 51-44 lead into a 55-51 deficit by the six-minute mark, and Berry was able to hang on from there.

Oglethorpe only scored three more baskets the rest of the way, all from Lane Foster, including a huge 3-pointer with just over 1:30 to go that made it 61-58. The Stormy Petrels even came up with several stops on the other end to give themselves a chance to tie but were held scoreless over the final 90 seconds.

"That was a slugfest," said Head Coach Philip Ponder. "It was an extremely physical game, and that affected us offensively. I thought we defended well all night. The one thing that hurt on the defensive end was we gave up too many offensive rebounds. It's a disappointing outcome, but I loved our intensity. We'll rest tomorrow, and then get focused on the tournament and Sewanee. We're happy to be hosting on Sunday."

Foster finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Dimetri Chambers led the way with 19 points, six steals and three rebounds. Will Koch and Jack Murrah both chipped in with nine points and six and five rebounds, respectively.

With the regular season in the books, Oglethorpe will next play in the SAA postseason tournament, set to begin Sunday with quarterfinal games. The Stormy Petrels will host Sewanee in Dorough Field House at 2 p.m. If they win Sunday, they will travel back to Berry for the semifinals and finals, which are set for Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 26-27.