Ten Petrels made their way into the scoring column, three of them in double digits. Uba Ezigbo led with 20 points, his 10th straight game in double figures. Jackson Kemp followed with 14, then Jordan James with 12, Dylan Bennifield with seven and Griffin Cherry with six.  

Ezigbo also recorded four assists, a career-high six steals and five rebounds. Ryan Jenei posted a career-high 11 rebounds.

"That was a tough one," said Head Coach Philip Ponder after the game. "We just could not put the ball in the basket in the first half. We missed a bunch of shots that we normally make, but I thought our defense actually kept us in the game at the half. The second half I thought was possibly our best half of the season, but we could not keep (Sewanee) off the free-throw line the last four minutes of the game.

"Despite the loss, I think we took a big step forward today. Sewanee is one of the better teams in the league, and we were right there with them until the last second. I think we will keep getting better. We haven't reached our ceiling yet." 

The game began in Oglethorpe's favor, with a successful layup from Jenei, but the Tigers were quick to respond and take the lead. The score tied several times early on, but the Tigers were able to pull ahead and eventually lead the Petrels by 10. Despite a small run toward the end of the period, Oglethorpe headed into halftime trailing 31-23. 

Although the second period began with Sewanee scoring, Ezigbo, James and Kemp sent Oglethorpe on a 13-4 run. A layup from Brent Smith put the Petrels back in the lead at 38-37, but Sewanee quickly found an equalizer.

Ezigbo then sank a 3-pointer, and just five minutes into the period, the Stormy Petrels were ahead 41-38 with a lead that would stick until the end of the game. Even though Sewanee came as close as one point away, the Petrels were able to pull back ahead. With just 17 seconds left on the clock, a free throw from Jenei seemed to put Oglethorpe in the clear at 75-73, but Sewanee's Russ Marr managed a layup with 1.9 seconds left to tie things up at 75-75. Marr was fouled in the process and converted the old-fashioned 3-point play to give Sewanee the lead and the win. 

Game Notes

• Oglethorpe's record is now 7-9 (2-3 SAA) 
• The Petrels are now 18-14 against Sewanee since 2006.  
• Sewanee's record is now 11-9 (4-1 SAA)  
• Career highs included Jenei's 11 rebounds and Ezigbo's six steals.
• As a team, the Petrels recorded a 76% free-throw percentage.  

Up Next 

The Stormy Petrels will hit the road, playing at Rhodes on Friday, Jan. 20, at 9 p.m. ET. The Petrels will also travel to Hendrix for a 3 p.m. game on Sunday, Jan. 22. The next home game will be Friday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m. against Rhodes.