MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Rhodes men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker on Sunday in Southern Athletic Association action to Oglethorpe, 73-72.
The loss moves the Lynx to 9-5 and a 2-1 start in league play. The Stormy Petrels advance to a 13-1 record with a 3-0 record in the SAA.
Rhodes faced a tough battle against the Petrels, and found themselves trailing from the start as Oglethorpe snuck on the board first with a Jordan Kinney lay-in at 19:20 to take the early 2-0 lead. Rhodes'
Drew Miller had an answer with a three point bucket 27 seconds later, to give the Lynx their only lead of the half, 3-2.
Oglethorpe charged on a 13-0 run, capped off by a Tyler Courson three at the 14:55 mark to make the count 15-3. But the Lynx found their hunger and fought back cutting down the deficit to 26-20 after a Miller three at the 4:57 mark. Rhodes continued to claw their way back in, grabbing the last score of the half after a
Tate Sledge free throw made the half time count 32-27.
Drew Miller led the Lynx charge at the half with nine points and seven rebounds.
Johnny Dunavant and
Tate Sledge each added four apiece towards Rhodes' total. The Petrels' Kinney netted eight first half points, followed by Courson who added six.
Oglethorpe posted 54.2 percent shooting from the field in the first half, with 35.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Lynx shot 38.1 percent in the first half with 45.5 percent from three point land, shooting five of 11.
Rhodes hung in with the Petrels in the second half, but struggled to get within five points. At the 7:34 mark, Oglethorpe attained its largest lead of 15 points after a Victor Rohlfs three points made the score 56-41. The Lynx were down, but they weren't out as they steadily made the unlikely comeback. A 10-2 run by the Lynx quickly pulled Rhodes within six over the span of three minutes. A Miller three made the count 58-52 with 4:16 to play.
Coach DeGeorge's squad continued to push and rode the shift of momentum all the way to 8-0 run, including a huge three from
Michael Gallagher, to close the contest and knot the game at 60-60 to force overtime.
In the first extra period, the Lynx hung tick-for-tack with the Petrels. After Oglethorpe opened the overtime with a Connor Smith three, Matt Wager drew the foul and knocked down both of his free throws to pull within one with 3:57 to play. A strong defensive effort gave the Lynx a chance and a huge Dunavant three with 52 seconds to play gave them the 65-63 lead. Oglethorpe wasn't finished and tied the game at 65-65 off a Courson bucket in the paint, sending the game into a second extra period.
In second overtime it was Rhodes who drew first blood, with a Sledge lay-in, giving the Lynx a 67-65 advantage with 2:28 to play. The Petrels answered with a clutch three from Rohlfs, grabbing the lead 68-67 at the 2:03 mark. Another Dunavant three with 33 seconds to play gave the Lynx a 72-71 lead, but the charging Petrels overtook the Lynx in the paint, and a Drew Patrick basket would be the final score of the game, handing Oglethorpe the 73-72 victory.
Oglethorpe shot an impressive 49.1 percent from the field in the contest, with 36.0 percent shooting from three point range. Rhodes shot 39.3 percent in the contest and converted 13 of 32 from beyond the arc.
Miller led all scorers with his 18 point performance. The junior also pulled in 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
Geoff Livsey also recorded a double-double with his 15 points and 10 rebounds. Dunavant ended the contest with 15 points for the Lynx, shooting four for seven from three point range.
Kinney led the way for Oglethorpe with 16 points. Drew Patrick added 13 to ten rebounds for a double-double. Rohlfs and Smith each finished with 11 points for the Petrels.
The Lynx will stay home for their next contest, where they will host Hendrix in a rare one game weekend. Rhodes will face off against the Warriors on Jan. 18 at 4 p.m.
