ATLANTA, Ga. – The Spalding University men's basketball team opened the season with a midnight tipoff against Oglethorpe University Saturday morning, falling to the Petrels, 79-67.

The Golden Eagles, playing with a plethora of new components, showed a lot of promise in the 12 point loss. Statistically the game was very even, Spalding held a 38-36 rebounding advantage, snatched five steals to the Petrels four, and both teams committed 10 turnovers. However, Oglethorpe was able to connect at a high percentage from the field shooting 55.8%, while the Golden Eagles were held to 35.9% for the game.

Brandon Goeing had the hot hand early, knocking down his first two attempts from long range to get SU off to a 6-0 start, and Brandon Gabriel found Renaldo Moore at the basket for a layup to make it 8-0 at the 17:38 mark. However, the Petrels found their range. Conner Smith drilled a pair of three-pointers  helping OU outscore the Golden Eagles 14-4 over the next 3:39 to take a 14-12 lead. Sophomore wing Jovante Lavendar connected on a triple to put SU back on top 15-14, but an 11-0 Petrel run over the next 3:25 put the Golden Eagles down double digits at 25-15. Spalding cut the deficit to eight points at 30-22, following a Jametrius Moore and-one with 5:45 remaining in the half. Nevertheless, OU answered scoring seven straight points to push their lead to 15 points, and led by as much as 16. James Turner converted an attempt from beyond the arc just before the horn to get SU within 13 points, heading into the half down 41-28.  

Similar to the final box score, the first half was fairly even in most facets, but the Petrels outshot SU going 15-28 (53.6%) from the field, while the Golden Eagles went 10-32 (31.2%). OU's Conner Smith led first half scorers with 13 points, and Brandon Goeing led Spalding with eight points.

In the second half, the Petrels scored four consecutive points to start the half extending their lead to 17 points. The Golden Eagles showed grit, slowly edging their way back into the game, eventually getting back within single digits at 46-55 following a pair of Goeing free throws with 11:11 to play.  However, the Golden Eagles found themselves trailing by 18 with 5:28 to go following another Petrel run.  Five late points from James Abrams helped SU cut into OU's lead, but the Golden Eagles fell 79-67.

Spalding's Renaldo Moore led all scorers with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Brandon Goeing added 15 points, going 3-for-9 from long range. The Golden Eagles also received solid all-around games from Brandon Gabriel and freshman Jametrius Moore. Gabriel finished with a seven points, six assists and six rebounds, while Moore came off the bench to score eight points and grab a game-high 10 rebounds in his first collegiate game.

Jordan Kinney and Connor Smith led Oglethorpe with 15 points apiece, and Kinney grabbed a team-high seven boards.

The Golden Eagles will be back in action this evening when they take on Taccoa Falls College at 7:00 p.m. EST. Catch all the action via live stats HERE.