MEMPHIS - The Rhodes College men's basketball team erased a 12-point halftime deficit to get as close as two in the second half, but it would not be enough as the Lynx fell to Simpson College at the Rhodes Thanksgiving Classic, 58-48. 

The Lynx shot 18-for-45 (40%) from the field, but struggled from behind the arch, shooting 3-for-19 (38%). Rhodes also struggled to take care of the ball with 24 turnovers on the afternoon. Meanwhile, Simpson shot 18-for-47 (38%) from the field and 10-for-26 (39%) from behind the arch. The Storm was red hot in the first half, going 12-for-25 (48%) from the field and 7-for-15 (47%) from three.

It was all Storm in the first half, racing out to a 12-2 lead and moving their lead to as many as 15 at one point in the half. However, the Lynx hung on and was able to cut the deficit to 12 going into the break. 

From there, Rhodes used a tremendous defensive effort in the second half to climb back into the contest. They also got a little help with the old fashioned three point game as junior Aquil Muhammad, freshman Daniel Darst, and junior Brennan Sullivan all earned buckets while drawing the foul early in the half. In the blink of an eye, Rhodes had made it a 38-34 game.

Just when it seemed the Lynx were ready to takeover, the Storm would hit a big shot to push their lead forward. The Rhodes defense was fantastic in the second half, limiting Simpson to 27% shooting both from the field (6-for-22) and from behind the arch (3-for-11). They also forced nine turnovers.

With 5:33 to go, a layup from Sullivan cut the Rhodes deficit to 46-42. However, Rhodes would go ice cold as they would not make another shot until sophomore Andrew Lowrie finally connected with a three with 42 seconds remaining. It would not be enough as Simpson ran out the clock for the 10-point victory.

Sullivan finished with 20 points, getting to the line 11 times. Muhammad added 11 points while junior Tyler Gee finished with eight points and a team-leading six boards. Lowrie led the way with three assists while junior JJ Weir had three steals. Dillon Gretzky led the Storm with 15 points while Cody Good added 12 off the bench.

Rhodes moves to 1-2 overall and will compete in the third place game tomorrow, taking on Millikin University at Mallory Gymnasium beginning at 12 p.m. Simpson will move on to the Championship Game to battle Wittenberg, who beat Millikin 79-64, at 2 p.m.