ATLANTA - The Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels kicked off Southern Athletic Association play with an 83-78 win against the Berry Vikings Wednesday night at home. The game featured several career highs, a tense second half, and an energetic crowd.
Malachi Dooley led with 23 points and five rebounds. Carter Watkins made career highs of 14 points and nine rebounds, and Logan turner hit a career high 17 points. Mason Kemp and Jackson Kemp added 10 points each, with Mason getting six rebounds. Andrew LaVigne made a career high three steals.
"That was a nailbiter," said head coach Philip Ponder after the win. "We played our best half of the season in the first half, but obviously we didn't close the game out the way we would have liked. We will need to clean that up in the future, but the bottom line is our first half was better than their second half and we got the W. We'll be 1-0 in conference play for the next six weeks."
Watkins made the first basket of the game, and Berry responded, but the Petrels made an 8-2 run to create a lead that would last. Dooley and Watkins hit back-to-back 3-pointers, then the Kemp twins added points of their own to further solidify Oglethorpe's lead. The Petrels dominated the first half, eventually reaching a 44-22 lead by the end of the period.
Berry began to bounce back at the top of the second period, but Oglethorpe kept them at bay. The Vikings slowly chipped away at the gap, coming as close as a two-point difference, but never broke it. The final minutes were tense as Berry campaigned for a comeback, LaVigne made a killer steal leading to a dunk, and the Vikings went on a small run. LaVigne finished things out with three good free throws, as the Petrels held on for the 83-78 win.
Game Notes
- Prior to the men's game, Oglethorpe's women defeated Berry 48-44.
- Both Berry and Oglethorpe now hold 3-4 overall records.
- The score only tied once, at 2-2. The Petrels held the lead the rest of the way.
- J. Kemp went 4-4 on free throws.
- Dooley went 7-11 on field goals.
- Halftime featured a performance by the dance team Khayos.
Up Next
The Stormy Petrels play at home again on Friday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m. against Baptist University of Florida. The next SAA game will be Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, at Trinity.
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