MEMPHIS - The Rhodes College men's basketball team outscored the University of California at Santa Cruz, 30-18, in the final 13 minutes of the game to come-from-behind and defeat the Banana Slugs, 63-56, on Saturday afternoon at Mallory Gymnasium.

The Lynx shot 22-for-50 (44.0%) from the field and 6-for-13 (46.2%) from deep. Rhodes struggled from the free throw line, only shooting 13-for-23 (56.5%) and was outrebounded, 39-28. The Lynx used great defense, especially in the second half, as they won the turnover battle, 19-14. The Lynx held Santa Cruz to 41.5% shooting from the field and 16.7% from downtown.

Four of the five starters got on the board early for Rhodes as they jumped out to a 10-5 lead early in the first half thanks to threes from junior Brennan Sullivan and sophomore Keyshawn Butts. As the game moved to 10-7, sloppy play would take over as neither team would score a point throughout the next four minutes.

Sophomore Ian Harrison broke that slump at the 12-minute mark and junior JJ Weir added a three-pointer as Rhodes led 17-12 midway through the first half.

However, the Banana Slugs responded with a 10-0 run as they surged to a 22-17 lead. Rhodes would respond, tying the game back at 24 as each team ended the half exchanging buckets as the game was deadlocked at the break.

UC-Santa Cruz controlled the game early in the second half as they were aggressive in the paint and used poor free throw shooting from the Lynx to take a 38-33 lead.

Freshman Daniel Darst scored the next five points and sophomore Andrew Lowrie knocked down a big three to tie the game at 42. Lowrie and Darst scored the next five points for Rhodes as they had the lead at 46-43.

Rhodes was in control, pushing their lead to as much as six, thanks in part to a big three-point play from Harrison. The Lynx would hold off any rally from the Banana Slugs and take home a huge victory, 63-56.

Darst led the way off the bench with a career-high 14 points including five rebounds and two steals. Sullivan and junior Tyler Gee each had nine points while Gee added eight boards and four steals. Weir led the way with six assists while Butts had four steals. Junior Daniel Galvin and Harrison each added seven points on the afternoon.

For the Banana Slugs, Will Crain led the scoring with 14 points and three blocks while Sam Gabbard had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Rhodes moves to 6-5 on the season and will be back in action tomorrow as they will get ready for a stiff test against Amherst College. The Lord Jeffs are currenty ranked No. 3 in the nation by D3hoops.com. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.