| Oglethorpe senior guard Alex Richey drives past
junior guard Alex Gulotta of Emory in last season's 85-81 victory
by the Eagles. Oglethorpe athletics photo |
While the list of Division III rivalries starts with Hope-Calvin and has the likes of Amherst-Williams, Wooster-Wittenberg and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps/Pomona-Pitzer at the top, the rivalry between Atlanta schools Oglethorpe and Emory has certainly been one of the most competitive in the past few years.
Separated by only seven miles, Oglethorpe and Emory began lacing them up against each other in 1987 and have squared off 47 times since, with the Stormy Petrels holding a 25-22 advantage all-time. The two squads have split the last ten meetings with seven of the ten being decided by six points or less.
What has made this college basketball rivalry special, though, has been the competitiveness of the last four games played.
In the past two seasons, Oglethorpe and Emory have split four contests with each coming down to the wire. In 2008, the home teams prevailed while in 2009 both the road teams came out on top. Among those four games, three went into overtime with one of the games extending to double overtime. The combined score of the two games from 2009, both of which went to overtime, was 178-178. The combined score of each of the last four games is 350-348, with Oglethorpe holding the razor-thin lead.
Two years ago, Emory led by two at Oglethorpe with 6 seconds left and was shooting a free throw but missed. The Petrels rushed down the floor and got fouled with 2 seconds remaining. Sophomore Joe Kennedy calmly sank both free throws to send the game to overtime, where Oglethorpe eventually prevailed, 89-81. Contrast that with the game last year at Oglethorpe where the Petrels led by six with a minute remaining only to miss six consecutive free throws and watch Emory hit a 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining to send it to overtime, where they eventually won, 85-81. Just ten days later in the rematch the contest went to double-overtime and featured 18 lead changes and 15 ties before Oglethorpe prevailed, 97-93.
Emory coach Jason Zimmerman and Oglethorpe coach Philip Ponder agree that the rivalry has taken on a special aspect. “Jason and I have jokingly said that Oglethorpe-Emory has become the best rivalry in college basketball,” said Ponder. “We’re not delusional and comparing ourselves to Duke-Carolina or even Hope-Calvin at the Division III level in terms of history, pageantry, attendance, or media interest, but just in terms of competitiveness ... In that regard, you can’t find a better rivalry the last couple of years, at any level.
"The fact that we are located just seven miles apart just adds to it.”