ATLANTA—A couple of decent looks on the final possession did not drop, and the Oglethorpe men's basketball team lost to Birmingham Southern 76-74 Sunday afternoon in a Southern Athletic Association contest at Dorough Field House.

Oglethorpe led 72-71 until the ninth lead change of the game saw Birmingham Southern finish on a 5-2 run over the last two and a half minutes. During this final stretch, Perry Robinson tied the game for the 16th and final time with a layup with just under one minute left to tie the game at 74-74.

From there, Birmingham Southern was able to take the lead with a free throw with 40.1 seconds left, then added to that lead with another free throw with 20.3 seconds left. Oglethorpe had one final chance to tie with a two or win with a three but came up short. An open 3-pointer from the right wing went off the iron, then a couple of offensive rebounds led to final attempts in the closing seconds but the Stormy Petrels were unable to force overtime.

Oglethorpe showed tremendous grit in the second half to erase an 11-point BSC lead midway through the second half. The Panthers led 52-41 until a 10-0 run over two and a half minutes saw the Petrels get back in it. Robinson and Mark Asare hit back-to-back threes on the run.

"That was a tough one," said Head Coach Philip Ponder. "We had won so many close games, but we couldn't pull this one out today. The first four and a half minutes of the second half were the difference in the game. We went from three up to 11 down to start the half. Even though we battled back and retook the lead, those opening minutes of the half killed us. We just have to put this one behind us and get ready for back-to-back road weekends."

Game Notes

• The game featured two of the top teams in the league as Oglethorpe moved to 8-9 (5-2 SAA) while Birmingham Southern moved to 12-7 (6-2 SAA).
• Robinson finished with a game-high 19 points alongside seven rebounds.
• Jordan James (16 points) and Dylan Pumpian (13 points) followed next in double figures.
• Birmingham Southern leads the all-time head-to-head series 22-16 in a matchup that began in 2007, but Oglethorpe has won 10 of the last 14 meetings.

Up Next

Oglethorpe hits the road for the next four games over the next two weekends. This will include an immediate turnaround to face Millsaps and Birmingham Southern at their places next weekend, then Hendrix and Rhodes the following weekend.