ATLANTA – The Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels suffered a 93-89 loss to the Centre Colonels in their first Southern Athletic Association game of the season.

Six Petrels still hit double figures, led by Mason Kemp with 18 points. Malachi Dooley followed with 15 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and one block. Perry Robinson posted his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Jackson Kemp was close behind his brother with 13 points and seven rebounds, Dylan Pumpian posted 11 points, and Jordan James put up 10 points.

Dooley had the biggest basket of the game for the Stormy Petrels, as he secured an offensive rebound in the final ticks of regulation before scoring a tip-in layup to tie the game and force overtime. It was part of an Oglethorpe regulation-ending run that erased an eight-point deficit in the final eight minutes.

"That was a tough one," said head coach Philip Ponder after the game. "We let that one slip away. We outrebounded them, and we outshot them from the field and from 3-point range, but they outscored us 30-11 at the free-throw line. We just couldn't get stops consistently. We battled back and finally took the lead late, but then we gave them three shots in one possession. If we get a stop there, we win the game. This is a tough league with a lot of good teams, and every night is going to be a battle. We need to regroup and get ready for the preseason #1 team coming to town on Sunday.

Centre opened the game with a good jumper, which M. Kemp quickly mirrored. Although the Colonels held the lead early on, M. Kemp, James, Dooley, and Robinson combined for a flashy 12-2 run that held for a while. The Petrels and the Colonels battled back and forth in the first period, but Oglethorpe headed into halftime with the disadvantage.

The second period started 43-40, and Centre once again made the first play. J. Kemp hit a 3-pointer to get the Petrels back on the board, but Centre stayed on top for most of the game. With less than five minutes on the clock, Robinson hit a free throw to tie things at 69-69, capping an 8-0 Oglethorpe run.

The score tied multiple times in the final minutes before Centre connected on its first two 3-point attempts in overtime to kickstart a 6-0 run that would secure the Colonels the win.

Up Next

Oglethorpe hosts Sewanee Sunday at 3 p.m. Sewanee was the favorite to win the league according to the SAA preseason coaches poll.