MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Rhodes men's basketball team picked up a win in a heated Southern Athletic Association contest over Birmingham Southern College, 78-70.
 
The Lynx improve to 17-6 on the season and 10-3 in league play to remain atop the standings, while the Panthers fell to 15-9 on the year and 7-6 in conference action.
 
The Lynx, who fell to the Panthers earlier in the year on the road, came into the contest seeking revenge. It took the opening seven minutes for the Lynx to get settled in, when they took their first lead of the contest after a Drew Miller three and a pair of Luke Collins free throws at 14-12.
 
The Lynx offense caught fire, with back-to-back three's from Brennan Sullivan to break out to a 20-12 advantage. It wasn't long before the Lynx lead was into the double digits, with another Miller trey giving the Lynx a 26-14 edge with 8:11 to play.

It was all Lynx basketball down the stretch, as 13-2 run to close the half, featuring buckets from Collins, Matt Wagner and Keyshawn Butts, gave Rhodes a 42-23 lead heading into the break.
 
At the midway mark, the Lynx were led by the sharp-shooting Sullivan who tallied 16 points off a perfect 6-6 from the field and 4-4 from beyond the arc. Miller added 10 at the break, with Ryan Van Hoeck chipping in five. For the Panthers, Larry Thomas netted eight points, with Harrison Deneka and Ian Thom each adding five points apiece.
 
Rhodes shot a scorching 69.6 percent from the field in the opening half of play, with an on-fire 85.7 percent from three point range, shooting 6-7. The Lynx held BSC to 42.9 percent in the opening half and a mere 16.7 percent from deep.
 
BSC tried to come out of the break with the answer, but the Lynx relinquished no control, and made quick work of widening the gap. Sullivan continued his hot shooting, knocking down a trey at the 15:45 mark, giving Rhodes a 51-30 advantage.
 
BSC, not ready to throw in the towel worked to claw their way back into the contest, slowly chipping away at the Lynx lead. By the 4:47 mark, the Panthers worked the deficit down to single digits after an Alex Avery lay-in made the count 68-59.
 
Rhodes fought to hold on, and an old-fashioned three point play from Collins at the 2:57 mark stretched the Lynx lead back to double-digits at 73-63. The Lynx solid free throw shooting secured the win in the waning minutes, and the Lynx brought home a 78-70 win.
 
In the contest, sophomore Sullivan netted a career-high 24 points, shooting 8-10 from the floor and 6-7 from beyond the arc. Van Hoeck chipped in 15 points and six rebounds, while Miller added 14 points to the Lynx totals, to go with five rebounds. Collins worked his way into double-digits with 11 points, and dished out five assists.
 
Rhodes shot 55.1 percent from the floor on the day, with an impressive 61.5 percent from beyond the arc. The Lynx got a lift off the bench, with 29 points coming from the reserves.
 
The Panthers were led by Thomas, who finished with 24 points and nine rebounds. Avery netted 12 points in the outing, with Deneka and McLean each adding eight points. Rhodes held their counterparts to 47.1 percent shooting from the field, and just 20.0 percent from three point range. Rhodes forced 17 Panther turnovers, which they turned into 25 points.
 
Rhodes will wrap up the regular season on Sunday, Feb. 22 when they host Millsaps College at 3 p.m.