ROME, Ga. – All tied at 56-56, the Oglethorpe men's basketball team finished the last eight minutes on a 21-8 run to defeat Hendrix 77-64 Saturday night in the semifinals of the Southern Athletic Association tournament. The win advanced the Stormy Petrels to the championship game, which will take place Sunday at 2 p.m. against tournament host Berry.

The closing run was one point better than a first-half run of 21-9 the Stormy Petrels used to erase a nine-point deficit just 10 minutes into the game. Hendrix would actually again build a lead out to eight points in the second half, which coincidentally set up a 12-3 run Oglethorpe used to tie the game at 56-56. Combined, Oglethorpe's two second-half runs tallied 33-11 over the last 13 minutes.

Dimetri Chambers matched Hendrix on that run alone, with 11 of his 18 points during the final stretch. Three other Petrels reached double figures, including Uba Ezigbo with 18, Lane Foster with 17 and Jack Murrah with 12. Foster added six assists with no turnovers, and Murrah scored nine of his 12 on Oglethorpe's 33-11 run.

"Our defense in the second half won us the game," said Head Coach Philip Ponder. "We did not shoot it well in the first half, but we were able to stay just close enough, and I thought that was one of our better defensive performances after the half. We also hit some big shots late to pull away. We are excited to have another crack at Berry tomorrow and the chance to play for a championship."

Entering the tournament, the Petrels looked to need to defeat all three, the only three, teams to best them during the regular season. With two of them down, they have one more to go, and it will come in the form of top-seeded Berry in Sunday's championship final. Oglethorpe and Berry split the regular season, with Berry winning the regular-season finale, 62-58, at home.