In front of a packed house, the Rhodes Lynx honored their four seniors and went on to defeat their biggest rival Sewanee on Friday, February 15th by a score of 66 to 58.  With a little help from Hendrix College beating Centre College, the Rhodes men have clinched a share of the SAA conference title and will look to win it outright on Sunday afternoon at 3:00pm against Centre College. 

The rivalry lived up to its billing tonight, as the Rhodes Lynx and Sewanee Tigers fought for 40 minutes, with neither team able to grab a lead greater than seven until late.  Rhodes attempted to separate early in the first half, but Tiger's Valentino Bryant scored 14 first half points to pace Sewanee and keep the game at arm's length.  At the half, Rhodes grabbed a 26-23 lead.

Sewanee came out of the break connecting on their first two shots, as a three-point field goal by Affronti gave the Tiger's their first lead of the game at 28-26.  The Lynx fought back with the inside play of senior forward Theo Hartwell, who was not going to let his Senior Night slip away.  Hartwell scored 15 second half points and dominated the paint, tallying 19 points and 7 rebounds. 

Over the last ten minutes, Rhodes was able to keep the Tiger's at bay and consistently had an answer for each punch Sewanee gave.  A big three-point field goal by sophomore guard Drew Miller put the Lynx up seven points with under two minutes to play.  Miller finished the night with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists.  Senior guard Andrew Galow chipped 10 points for the Lynx as Rhodes went on to defeat Sewanee 66-58. 

Sewanee was led by Bryant who finished the night with 20 points and Affronti connected on a few late three-point field goals to finish with 12.  Rhodes held the Tiger's to 42% shooting and was able to grab six more rebounds (36-30).

Rhodes (16-8, 11-2) claimed a share of the SAA conference championship with the victory, but still have an important contest on Sunday against Centre College (17-5, 10-3).  A win against Centre College will not only give the Lynx the conference championship single-handedly, but the winner will host the SAA conference tournament played next weekend.  Please come out and support your Lynx on Sunday, February 17th (3pm)!