MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Rhodes men's basketball squad ousted Centenary College in a contest to close for comfort Monday, 67-64.
 
The win advances the Lynx to 8-4 on the season while the Gents fall to 5-5.
 
The Lynx began the contest with a Geoff Livsey bucket paired with a Drew Miller three to open up with an early 5-0 lead. Rhodes continued to push, but throughout the contest couldn't shake the persistent Gents. The Lynx earned their largest lead of the evening with 8:37 to play when Ryan Van Hoeck connected from beyond the three point line to give Rhodes a 27-17 advantage. Rhodes held off the charging Gents and with an even 7-7 stretch to end the first half, the Lynx took a 37-34 Rhodes lead into the half.
 
At the break, the Lynx were led in scoring by Geoff Livsey who netted 10 first half points. Other contributors included Drew Miller who added eight, and Patrick McGrail who scored seven points. The Gents were led in scoring by Jonathan Blount who totaled 16 points, followed by Kendall Demouchet, Brandon Campbell and Saro Ntagha who each scored four.
 
Rhodes shot an impressive 59.1 percent from the field in the first half, coupled with a 57.1 percent from beyond the three point line. Centenary put up 45.8 percent in the first half, with only 16.7 percent from beyond the line.
 
Rhodes still couldn't shake a determined Centenary in the second half. The Gents brought their deficit to just one point on five different occasions, but the Lynx never gave up their lead. Back to back buckets from Johnny Dunavant and Van Hoeck gave the Lynx a 42-35 lead with 15:38 to play. The sharp shooting three point game of the Lynx kept Rhodes ahead, getting help from a Luke Collins three at the 11:13 mark to give the Lynx a 46-41 point lead.
 
The even paced scoring continued until the Gents fought to a single point difference after a Caden Cheramie layup made the score 57-56 with 4:55 to play. Dunavant connected on his second three with 1:32 to play giving the Lynx a 62-58 lead. The Gents weren't ready to quit, and fought back to another one point difference in the final seconds, to 65-64. Rhodes was able to close out the win with a pair of made free throws from Collins and Miller to make the final count 67-64.
 
The Lynx put up 52.5 percent in the contest, with an above average 50.0 percent from beyond the three point arc. Rhodes held their opponents to just 23.3 percent shooting in the second half for a game total of 33.3 percent from the field.
 
Centenary's Blount finished the contest with a game high 26 points. The Gents also finished with Brooks Pawsat adding nine points.
 
Rhodes was led by Livsey who netted 14 points. Miller added 12 points to four rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Van Hoeck also chipped in nine points with three rebounds.
 
The Lynx will open conference play this weekend as they play host to Berry College and Oglethorpe University. Rhodes will face off first against the Berry Vikings on Jan. 10 at 8 p.m.
 
Five one point leads in the second half.