Memphis, Tennessee ~ Rhodes College couldn't overcome poor three point shooting and a hot Earlham team today as they dropped a 87-79 decision. With the loss, the Lynx fall to 3-2 overall, but will be back in action on Monday night with a chance to get back onto the winning track. Tipoff for the Monday night contest is 7pm.
Rhodes got off to a great start with a steal and bucket by freshman
Andrew Galow (Oswego, IL). After an Earlham basket, Rhodes went on a 9-0 run to build a nine point lead with just five minutes gone by in the first half. A midrange jumpshot by senior
Chris Eberle (Cincinnati, OH) gave the Lynx a 10 point lead and
Reid Hamilton (Birmingham, AL) connected for two points on the Lynx next possession pushing the lead to 12, but Earlham went on a 12-3 run over the next five minutes and pulled to within 3 points at the 8:13 mark.
Andyshea Saberioon (Houston, TX) scored off a nice pass from fellow senior
Andrew Sillyman (Cordova, TN) to help the Lynx build another double digit lead at 30-19 with 4:59 to play in the first stanza and on the next possession Hamilton scored again increasing the lead to 13 points, giving Rhodes what seemed to be solid control. But Earlham scored 11 straight points and brought the lead to just two points with 2:20 left. Two free throws by
Josh Arant (Charlotte, NC) pushed the lead back to six points. A Quaker free throw cut the lead to 5 points heading into halftime.
Earlham started the second half scoring 6 of the first 8 points of the half, cutting the Lynx lead to just one point. After a Hamilton score, the Quakers nailed one of their 13 three pointers to knot the score at 40. For the next thirteen minutes neither team could gain control of have a lead larger than 4 points. With 3:44 left to go in the game the score was tied for the 7th time at 64-64. Earlham then went on a 7-0 run, until a Galow bucket stopped the run and brought the Lynx within 5 points with just 1 minute remaining. Two free throws by Earlham gave the Quakers a seven point lead with just 46 seconds remaining and set up an exciting Lynx comeback. Hamilton got an offensive rebound and put back to pull the Lynx to within 5 points. Rhodes' defense forced a turnover on the next possession and
Brad Luckett (Cordova, TN) scored a traditional three point play off an assist from Galow and free throw to cut the deficit to three points. A Rhodes foul sent Earlham to the free throw line and the Quaker's Shane Heidt calmly sank two free throws to put the Quaker lead back at 5 points. After a timeout, Galow drove the lane and got fouled. Galow sank two free throws to pull the Lynx to within two. Rhodes pressed the Quakers and forced a 5second violation and got the ball back on the baseline with just 16 seconds to play. Rhodes executed to perfection their inbounds play, getting Luckett an easy layup and tying the score at 75. Rhodes defense held firm and forced a missed three by the Quakers and the game went into the extra session.
Luckett scored the first basket of overtime, giving the Lynx a two point lead at 77-75. But the Rhodes offense went cold over the next four minutes and the Quakers built a six point lead with just 24 seconds remaining. The Lynx battle hard, but clutch free throw shooting by the Quakers sealed a losing fate for the Lynx.
Freshman Galow scored a team and career high 27 points. Hamilton and Luckett scored 14 and 12 respectively to give the Lynx three double digit scores on the day. Rhodes held a slim rebounding advantage with
Kory Kilpatrick (Athens, GA) grabbing a team high 11 rebounds. Rhodes struggled from the arc today as they shot just 13% from the game.
Rhodes will be back in action on November 30th against the University of Dallas with tipoff set for 7pm in Mallory Gymnasium. The Lynx will open SCAC play next weekend as they finish up their homestand with DePauw University and Centre College coming to Mallory on Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Start times for the games are 8pm and 3pm respectively.
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