ATLANTA – The Stormy Petrels began the new year at No. 16 Emory, and after a hard-fought battle, the Eagles handed Oglethorpe a heartbreaking 94-82 loss.  

Twelve Petrels made their way into the scoring column, with three players in double digits. Freshman Jackson Kemp led with a career high 16 points, followed by Jordan James with 13, Uba Ezigbo with 10, Ryan Jenei with nine and Mason Kemp with eight.  

Ezigbo and both Kemp brothers each recorded three assists, and James had a career high four blocks. 

"You are never happy with a loss, but I do think we did some really good things in this game," said Head Coach Philip Ponder postgame. "Their pace gave us some problems the first 10 minutes of the game. Once we adjusted to that, I thought we went toe to toe with them for the next 25 minutes or so. We scored the most points any team scored against them, and we held them below their normal field goal and 3-point shooting percentages."

The game began in Emory's favor, as Jenei was the first to score for Oglethorpe. The Petrels struggled to keep up with the Eagles, who would hold their lead for the remainder of the game. Despite a great effort from the Petrels, Oglethorpe headed into halftime down 50-43.

The second half saw the Eagles first to score once again, while James kick-started the Petrels two minutes later. The closest Oglethorpe came to tying the score was after Mason Kemp made two free-throws around the 12-minute mark, putting the Petrels just five points away at 62-57. However, Emory continued to outshoot the Stormy Petrels, and despite Warner Peaks' basket in the final 20 seconds, Oglethorpe fell 94-82 to the Emory Eagles.

"Our biggest issue was giving up 23 offensive rebounds, and that was really the difference in the game," continued Ponder. "They are a great team and ranked number 16 in the nation for a reason. Playing good teams makes you better. I definitely think this game was good for us and made us better and will help us down the road."

As a team, Oglethorpe posted a 69.2% free-throw percentage and a 41.7% 3-point percentage. The Petrels recorded six steals and 10 blocks, four of which came from James.

Game notes 

• Oglethorpe's record for the season is now 5-7. 
• The Petrels are now 4–13 against Emory since 2006.  
• Emory's record is now 9-2.  
• The last time Oglethorpe and Emory faced each other was exactly one year ago, and resulted in an 87-65 loss for the Petrels. 
• This was the closest Oglethorpe has come to beating Emory in the past eight years.

Up next 

Oglethorpe will return to Southern Athletic Association play for the remainder of the season. The Stormy Petrels will hit the road to take on Birmingham Southern Friday, Jan. 6, at 9 p.m. The next home game will be Friday, Jan. 13, at 8 p.m. against Millsaps.