NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Rhodes men's basketball team struggled to open the 2015 portion of its season against Lipscomb University on Monday, falling to the Division I school, 90-53
 
The Lynx fall to 8-3 on the season while the Bison improve to 6-9 on the year.
 
Rhodes struggled to keep pace as a hot shooting Lipscomb knocked down eight straight buckets to take an early 19-8 lead with 10:51 to play in the opening period. A Tate Sledge three followed by a Luke Collins weave to the basket, cut the Lynx deficit to single digits at the 10:28 mark with a score of 19-10.
 
Head Coach Mike DeGeorge's squad continued to work to erase the Bison lead, and at the 3:55 mark, Ryan Van Hoeck picked up a bucket in the paint against a tough Lipscomb defense to make the count 33-23.
 
The Lynx saw a scoring streak by the Bison to end the half, and headed into the locker room trailing 44-28.
 
At the break, Van Hoeck and Sledge tallied six points apiece. Geoff Livsey chipped in five first half points, with four points from Tyler Gee and Luke Collins each. Rhodes shot 34.6 percent from the field in the half, while forcing eight Bison turnovers.
 
Lipscomb was led in the opening period by Aaron Korn who managed 12 points, shooting 5-6 from the field. Josh Williams and Chad Lang each netted six points a piece. The Bison fired a scorching 70.8 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from beyond the three point arc to start the contest.
 
In the second half Lipscomb picked up right where they left off, scoring the opening nine points. Lynx sophomore Brennan Sullivan fought to spark the Lynx, as he scored eight straight points, including three free throws after drawing a foul on a deep shot, to make the count 70-43 with 6:57 to play.
 
While the Lynx continued to see the Bison advantage swell, Rhodes wasn't ready to give in, as Sledge weaved through the lane for a bucket, followed by a Dylan Bliss trey that made the score 80-50 with 3:10 to play. The Lynx ultimately fell to the Bison, 90-53.
 
Sullivan finished as the Lynx leading scorer with his 12 points. Van Hoeck netted 11 in the outing, with five rebounds. The Lynx shot 32.7 percent in the contest from the field, while forcing 14 turnovers in the outing.
 
Lipscomb's scoring efforts were led by Williams who netted 16 points, followed by Korn who tallied 12 points. Talbott Denny chipped in 11 points, followed by Lang who worked into double digits with 10. The Bison posted 68.2 percent shooting from the field, with 52.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
 
Rhodes will look to bounce back as they continue their road stretch, when the Lynx face off against Oglethorpe University on Jan. 9.