Jan. 23, 2009

Box Score

The Southwestern University men's basketball team overcame another difficult night at the free-throw line to defeat Oglethorpe University 69-61. The Pirates shot just 55.6% from the charity stripe, but dominated the boards 45-33.

The Pirates got down by 6 early in the first half but quickly rallied to pull even again with just over 15 minutes to play. After trading baskets and the lead for the remainder of the first half, SU used a couple of layups to go up by three heading into halftime.

A steal by senior forward Andrew McDonald and a three-pointer by junior guard Zach Bergstrom started off the second half with a bang for the Pirates. Southwestern would never trail for the remainder of the game. Oglethorpe pulled within two, 45-43, on a layup by Alex Richey with 11:19 remaining, but that is the closest SU would allow. The Pirates strung together at 15-5 run over the next 8 minutes and mounted their largest lead of the game going up by 12, 60-48, with 3:25 left to play. Oglethorpe pulled within 6 with a minute and a half to go, but SU responded and pushed the lead back to 11 just 30 seconds later.

Southwestern was led by Bergstrom who scored 14 points on 5-10 shooting from the field and 2-4 from beyond the arc. Junior guards Anthony Cox and Travis Barber chipped in 11 points each. Senior forward Ben Sanders was the fourth Pirate in double figures with 10 points. Post players McDonald and junior forward Ross Hayes each pulled down a team high 10 rebounds in the win.

The Pirates improve to 12-5 on the season and 3-4 in conference play. They continue their home weekend on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. against Sewanee.