Rhodes finished off the regular season in style on Sunday, February 19th, as they knocked off previous undefeated-at-home Centre College 83 to 74. The Lynx came out gunning early in the second half as they stretched their six point halftime lead to as many as 21 points. Sharpshooting from Sophomore
Johnny Dunavant led the Lynx with 23 points, knocking down 8 of 9 shots. The victory clinched the Lynx the #2 seed in the upcoming SCAC conference tournament.
The Lynx started off hot again on Sunday, storming out to a 19 - 11 lead over the first eight minutes of the contest. Centre clawed back with the help of Seniors Greg Ross and Jeff Mullaney, but they were unable to slow down the hot hand of Lynx guard
Johnny Dunavant. Dunavant paced the Lynx with 17 points in the first half, shooting 6 for 7 from the field and 4 for 4 from the three point line. Rhodes went into the locker room up six, 34 - 28.
Rhodes came out firing in the second half. Sophomores
Johnny Dunavant and
Michael Gallagher, along with Freshman Geoff Livsey each added two second half three pointers as the Lynx gained separation from Centre. Gallagher's three point field goal with 8:37 remaining, assisted by Senior
Kory Kilpatrick, gave the Lynx their biggest lead of the night at 21 points. Rhodes shot 54% from the three-point line for the game, going 13 for 24.
Centre made a push late, but the Lynx lead was insurmountable. The nine point final was as close as the Colonials would get. The Lynx were led by Dunavant's 23 points, while Junior
Andrew Galow added 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists. Freshman Livsey chipped in with 10 points of his own.
The win caps off the regular season for the Lynx as they finish the year with a record of 17-8 overall and 12-4 in the SCAC. The season marks the best overall record for the Lynx since 1999, and the best conference record since 1992.
Rhodes will face off against Colorado College in the first round of the SCAC tournament on Friday, February 24th at 8:00pm in Birmingham, Alabama.
For more SCAC tournament information:
http://www.scacsports.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/releases/12mbracket_announced
