ATLANTA - The Southern Athletic Association regular season has seen its final games, as the Stormy Petrels are heading toward the SAA championship tournament starting this weekend.
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Men at home vs. Sewanee | Sunday, Feb. 20, 2 p.m.
Oglethorpe's road through the SAA tournament is set, and the Stormy Petrels could end up facing all three teams that dealt them a loss during the regular season. It starts with Sewanee, which defeated Oglethorpe 88-72 last week. A win over Sewanee, and the Petrels could face Hendrix in the semifinals, then a win in the semifinals could see the Petrels against Berry in the championship.
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The semifinals and finals are scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 26-27, at the highest remaining seed. Berry, which won the regular season, is the No. 1 seed and faces Millsaps in the quarterfinals.
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Men's season wrap
Oglethorpe has had a rather successful season, going a league second-best 11-3 in conference and 17-7 overall. The Petrels have been led by six particular upperclassmen, with four of them averaging double digits in scoring. Senior Dimetri Chambers tops the group with 24.4 points per game, followed by Lane Foster with 12.2, junior Uba Ezigbo with 11.2, and Will Koch with 10.3. Junior Jack Murrah follows with 8.6 points per game. Overall, the Stormy Petrels have amassed 1,940 points, averaging 80.8 per game. Foster was a standout with assists, totaling 139 this season and breaking the Oglethorpe career record.
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Chambers has been a key player this season, and his awards reflect it. Chambers was named the SAA player of the week three times this season, and led Oglethorpe to several wins. He and Foster both passed 1,000 career points this season.
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Oglethorpe saw the season start with a three-game winning streak, until a loss against LaGrange in late November. December was shaky for the Petrels, but the new year saw a turn-around as Oglethorpe went on a nine-game winning streak from early January to early February.
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Women at Birmingham Southern | Sunday, Feb. 20, 2Â p.m. ET
The Stormy Petrels are scheduled to face Birmingham Southern College in the quarterfinals on Sunday, Feb. 20, at 2Â p.m. eastern time. Oglethorpe lost to BSC twice during the regular season in two close games. The first was a four-point loss on the road before a week later dropping an eight-point game at home.
If the Stormy Petrels win Sunday, they would travel to top-seeded Rhodes for the remainder of the tournament, which is set for Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 26-27. Oglethorpe's semifinal matchup would be against the Berry/Sewanee winner.
Women's season wrap
The Petrels had a tough season, ending 4-9 in conference and 8-17 overall. Oglethorpe was just out of reach of victory several times, but the Petrels showed determination within each loss. Â
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This season saw Sydni Donovan lead the group with an average of 10.0 points per game. Six others followed with five or more points per game, including Carley Bell with 9.2, Taylor Smith with 6.7, and Emma Perna and Ellie Ronan with 5.8 and 5.7, respectively.
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Donovan also was a standout in blocks and rebounds, totaling 61 and 145 respectively for an average of 2.5 and 6.0.
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Oglethorpe did see three short winning streaks, the first being during the team's time in Danville, Kentucky, in mid-November. The Stormy Petrels saw their first win when they defeated Maryville in the Lee's Famous Recipe/Hampton Inn Classic tournament. The very next day, the team defeated Franklin College in the Centre College tournament. This win streak was short lived, as the Petrels returned home and fell to Asbury.