CONWAY, Ark. – Rhodes men's basketball edged out a win in a tough battle on Wednesday night against Hendrix College, 56-54.
 
The Lynx move on to 4-3 mark and open conference play with a 1-0 record while Hendrix falls to 4-4 on the year and 0-1 in league action.
 
Geoff Livsey went straight to work for the Lynx, scoring the first goal of the contest 38 seconds into the game, giving the Lynx the early 2-0 advantage. Rhodes continued to build on that lead, reaching their largest first half lead at the 11:46 mark when Shane Watson laid in a Patrick McGrail pass, making the count 19-7.
 
After Hendrix' Jordan Barrett's layup tied the contest for the third time at 22-22 with 5:51 in the opening period, the Lynx went on a surge to finish the half. A pair of Drew Miller lay-ins and a free throw, fueled the Lynx to a 27-22 advantage with 3:52 left to play. Ryan Van Hoeck finished a layup for the Lynx to take in a halftime lead of 34-28.
 
Leaders for the Lynx in the first half of action included Johnny Dunavant, who netted 10 points, Miller with seven and Luke Collins with five points. The Lynx shot a combined 42 percent from the field in the first half, including two threes. Rhodes outscored the Warriors in the paint, by a margin of 20-14. Hank Aldous scored nine for the Warriors in the first half, with Luke Vance adding five.
 
Hendrix fought back in the second half, quickly chipping away at the Lynx lead. After a Colton Primm free throw knotted things up at 37-37 with 15:43 left to play, Rhodes built their lead back up to seven with a 7-0 run propelled by a host of Miller and Tate Sledge free throws.
 
A Livsey jumper widened the Lynx gap to an eight point lead, 48-40, at the 7:46 mark, but the Warriors continued to charge. Hendrix fought for the games sixth tie with 2:23 left to play after a Drew Nikolovski three pointer knotted the score up at 52-52. The Lynx built their lead back to three with a Livsey layup and Miller free throw, but a second Nikolovski basket brought the Warriors within one with 1:05 left to play. Rhodes outlasted the Hendrix charge and with a Sledge free throw, bested the Warriors, 56-54.
 
Rhodes shot over 37 percent from the field on the night, only making two three pointers, both of which came in the opening half. Rhodes held the Warriors to 37 percent shooting, and 3-12 from beyond the three point arc. Rhodes took advantage of their time in the paint, outscoring the Warriors 32-28 in the lane. Rhodes also dominated the paint, getting 11 second chance points and out-rebounding their opponent 41-38.
 
Hendrix was led in scoring by Jordan Barrett, who added 12 points to the Warriors total while Luke Vane contributed 10 points as well.
 
The Lynx' offensive efforts were led by Miller, who finished with 15 points, seven boards, two assists and two steals. On the heels of Miller was Dunavant, who tallied 13 points in the Lynx win. The senior also pulled in four rebounds and two assists. Sledge came up big for Rhodes added eight points, four rebounds and two assists.
 
Rhodes will head to Mississippi College on Dec. 14 for a 5 p.m. matchup with the Choctaws.