Men's and Women's Basketball Teams Gear Up for SCAC Tournament

The Oglethorpe University men's and women's basketball teams head to Jackson, Mississippi this weekend for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament.

The men (15-10, 9-7) enter the tournament as the number three seed from the SCAC East and will square off with the number two seed from the West, Trinity University at 3:00 p.m. Central on Friday in the quarterfinals. The Petrels and the Tigers faced one another on January 15 in Texas with Oglethorpe coming out on top, 66-62. See complete preview below.

The women (10-15, 5-11) enter the tournament as the number four seed from the East and will face the West's number one seed, Hendrix College at 6:00 p.m. Central on Friday in the quarterfinals. The Warriors bested the Petrels in Arkansas earlier this year, 72-48.

In order for either team to qualify for the 2010 NCAA Tournament they will need to run the gauntlet and win the championship game on Sunday to seize the conference's automatic berth. For a complete breakdown of Friday's games see the preview below courtesy of the SCAC. Go here for live streaming video of the tournament games and go here for the Petrel Sports Network streaming audio call of the games.  

#2W Trinity University Tigers (13-12 / 9-7)

vs.
#3E Oglethorpe University Stormy Petrels (15-10 / 9-7)

3 p.m. @ Millsaps College

Game two features Trinity University and Oglethorpe University. Both teams sport identical 9-7 records entering their quarterfinal matchup. For the first time in three years, the Stormy Petrels avoided drawing the host school (played host Hendrix in 2008 and 2009) in the first round. The two teams met in San Antonio on Jan. 15 with Oglethorpe earning a 66-62 road win. Oglethorpe's Alex Richey led the Petrels with 15 points, including 5-of-12 shooting. Teammates Todd Ward (14) and  David Allison (12) also scored in double-figures. Trinity was led by junior forward Luke Caldarera's 17 points and six rebounds. Oglethorpe shot just under 24 percent (5-for-21) in the second half to allow Trinity to cut into a 13 point halftime lead. The Petrels won four of its final five regular season games. The Tigers are arguably the hottest team entering the SCAC Tournament. Trinity has won 7 of its last 8 games dating back to Feb. 7. Oglethorpe was 3-3 against the West while Trinity tallied a 3-3 mark against the East.

#1W Hendrix College Warriors (19-4 / 13-3)
vs.
#4W Oglethorpe University Stormy Petrels (10-15 / 5-11)

6 p.m. @ Belhaven College

First year head coach Thad McCracken will lead the Hendrix College Warriors into the SCAC Tournament as a number one seed for the first time in school history and for the second time in three years Hendrix will face off against Oglethorpe in the first round. Oglethorpe and Hendrix met one previous time this season on January 29, Christina Byler paced the Warriors to a 72-48 win leading all scorers with 12 points and nine rebounds. Hendrix, who has advanced to the SCAC Tournament each year of its existence, is looking to advance to the final four for the first time since 2004 while Oglethorpe will be making their seventh appearance in the tournament having made the semis the past four years. Friday's contest will mark the 32nd meeting between the two teams in the SCAC era with Hendrix holding a 21-10 edge. However Oglethorpe, under head coach Ron Sattele, is 6-2 against the Warriors.