Centre men's basketball suffers first conference loss

Despite leading after the first half of play, the Centre men's basketball team was unable to hold on, losing to Oglethorpe 64-59 on Sunday, January 9 in Atlanta, Ga. The Colonels fell to 9-3 on the season and dropped to 4-1 in the SCAC.

Oglethorpe began the game by taking a 5-0 lead before the Colonels went on a 9-0 run to go ahead 9-5 with 14:12 remaining in the first half of play.

The Stormy Petrels tied the game at 18 apiece when Tyler Cerone converted on a jumper and a free throw shot with 7:56 to go in the first half.

Centre would eventually build their lead back up to nine points as freshman Collin Lopez (Louisville, Ky.) knocked down a three-pointer to put the score at 34-25.

Oglethorpe made a comeback before they closed out the first half, scoring the final seven points. Centre went into the break with a 34-32 advantage.

In the first half of action Centre shot 36.4% from the floor, while going 4-4 from the free throw line. Oglethorpe made 52% of their shots from the field, and also went 4-4 from the foul line.

The Stormy Petrels started the second half tying up the game when Todd Ward knocked down a jumper to put the score at 34-34.

The two teams would exchange baskets through the first 4:30 of play before the Colonels went on a 5-0 run, with junior Greg Ross (Cincinnati, Ohio) scoring off a basket and free throw and senior Alex Lloyd (Versailles, Ky.) converting on a jumper.

Freshman Donovan Whiteside (Knoxville, Tenn.) put Centre ahead by seven points with 10:56 to go in the game when he made a layup following a steal, putting the score at 50-43.

Oglethorpe took their final lead of the game when Alex Richey made a three-pointer at the 9:31 mark, moving the score to 51-50. The Stormy Petrels would maintain the lead for the remainder of the game, winning by a final score of 64-59.

Centre finished the game shooting 33.3% from the floor and 88.9% from the free throw line. Oglethorpe knocked down 50% of their shots from the field, while hitting 77.8% from the foul line.

Ross posted 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Colonels. Lloyd had four blocked shots on the afternoon, while Whiteside recorded three steals. Sophomore Matt Griggs (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Whiteside each had 3 assists.

Ward led Oglethorpe in scoring and rebounding with 22 points and seven boards. Joe Kennedy had four assists in the win.

The Colonels return home for their next game on Friday, January 14 when they face Hendrix College at 8:00 p.m. in Danville, Ky.