BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Birmingham-Southern men's basketball team was defeated by the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels 86-83 at Bill Battle Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.

After a promising first half which saw the Panthers take the lead into the halftime break, the visitors came back in the second half and survived, despite a valiant effort from Birmingham-Southern.

In the first half, BSC always led, taking as much as an 11-point lead during the opening 20 minutes. The Panthers allowed the Stormy Petrels to pull within three before halftime but still held the advantage at the break.

Oglethorpe came out shooting in the second half, however, and tied it up for the first time with a three-pointer to open up play. From there, momentum seemed to swing back and forth between the Panthers and Petrels. Midway through the half, though, Oglethorpe started a run and gained an 11-point lead. From there, the Panthers were forced to play catch up.

BSC attempted a comeback in the final 10 minutes, pulling within one point of the Stormy Petrels with less than 30 seconds left in the game. In the end, however, it was free throws that decided the contest. Forced to foul, BSC sent Oglethorpe to the line where the Petrels sank both attempts, giving them an 84-81 lead with 10 seconds left. On the other end, Birmingham-Southern was gifted three free throws and a chance to tie it with two seconds left. Unfortunately, only two of the three went in, leaving the Panthers down one and ultimately ending the game.

Three different Panthers ended the game in double-digit scoring. Starting forward Christian Stewart (Irondale, Ala./Shades Valley HS) had a team-high 19 points and nine rebounds and starting senior guard Calvin Bak (Muscle Shoals, Ala./Muscle Shoals HS) had 15 points. Junior forward Ben Spence (Memphis, Tenn./Christian Brothers HS) came off the bench to score 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for third double-double of the season.

With the loss, Birmingham-Southern drops to 5-15 overall and 1-8 in the Southern Athletic Association. The Panthers will be on the road for their next two conference games against Centre and Sewanee next weekend before returning to the Hilltop for the final home weekend of the regular season Feb. 7 and 9.

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