Memphis, Tennessee ~ The Rhodes College Men's Basketball team opened up their 2009-2010 home basketball season with a thrilling 71-67 victory over the visiting Greenville College Panthers. With the victory Rhodes College raised its record to 2-0. Rhodes will face off against Westminster College in the final game of Tipoff Classic by Hampton Inn~ Poplar on Saturday with a 5pm tipoff.
Greenville opened the first half by netting a three pointer on their first possession, but senior Reid Hamilton (Birmingham, AL) tied the score with a three pointer of his own two possessions later. Rhodes built an early eight point lead with a 12-4 run capped off by sophomore Brad Luckett's (Cordova, TN) three pointer with 12 and half minutes to play in the first half. Greenville responded over the next five minutes with its own 13-0 run. A Kory Kilpatrick (Athens, GA) three pointer knotted the game at 22 and a Hamilton bucket gave the Lynx a two point lead. Greenville then ran off six straight points before Hamilton stopped the run with another basket. The game was highly contested in the first half, with Greenville taking a slim three point lead into halftime. Rhodes got 9 points and 5 rebounds by Hamilton to lead the Lynx.
The second half started great for the Lynx scoring five points in the first two possessions, all by Hamilton. At the 14:32 mark in the Rhodes went on an 11-1 run and built an eight point lead. The run was sparked by freshman Andrew Galow's (Oswego, IL) steal and three point play put the Lynx on top. A layup by senior Andyshea Saberioon (Houston, TX) capped the run. Rhodes increased the lead to 11 off a Saberioon three pointer. Greenville fought back with an 11-2 run and brought the game to within two points, but a jumper by Saberioon pushed the lead back to four. At the 2:30 mark left in the game senior Chris Eberle (Cincinnati, OH) knocked in a key three pointer to push the lead to six. Greenville cut the lead back to one point before the Lynx hit 7 of 10 free throws to seal the victory. Hamilton scored 12 points in the half despite missing most of the second frame with an injury, and Saberioon netted 16 points in the second half.
For the night, the Lynx were led by Hamilton's 21 points and 6 rebounds. Saberioon scored 18 on the night and Galow netted 11. The Lynx were led in rebound by Hamilton and Kilpatrick who each grabbed 6 boards. Rhodes shot 43% from the field on the night and 47% from the three point arc. Rhodes shot 20 free throws and knocked down 16 of them for an 80% clip from the line.
BOXSCORE
In the first men's game, Hendrix College defeated Westminster College 80-78.
Schedule for Saturday's games is as follows:
Hendrix vs. Greenville 3pm
Rhodes vs. Westsminster 5pm
