WALLA WALLA, Wash. - The Rhodes College men's basketball team saw their incredible run come to an end on Friday evening as they fell to top-ranked Whitman, 111-98, on Friday evening at the Sherwood Center.

The Lynx gave the No. 1 team in the nation all they could handle, within five all the way up to the media timeout, but the Blues pulled away and came away with the win.

The Lynx shot 49% from the field and 41% from behind the arc as well as 15 of 21 from the charity stripe. On the other end, the Blues, shot 56% from the field and 42% from three. 

Whitman got off to a hot start, out scoring the Lynx 38-19 in the first 10 minutes, forcing 10+ turnovers and using fast break and second chance buckets to build the big lead, but Rhodes began to shake off the nerves and find their footing in the game.

Rhodes began to get back into it beginning with a 9-0 run behind buckets from sophomore Vaughn Samson, freshman Bryce Berry, and a 3-pointer from senior Brennan Sullivan as the Lynx got it to 10.

Whitman pushed their lead back out to 46-28, but a 19-3 run to end the first half thanks to three 3-pointers from Sullivan along with layups from junior Price Dalton and sophomore Daniel Darst as the Lynx suddenly found themselves down 51-47 at the break. Sullivan connected on four 3-pointers for 14 points while Darst had 10.

Throughout the second half, Rhodes got it as close as one as many as three times all throughout the second half as junior Anesu Nyawata began to heat up from the field while Sullivan continued his hot shooting into the second half.

However, Rhodes could never quite take the lead in the contest, as the Blues will draw fouls and find a way to hit free throws while hitting clutch shots. Nyawata scored 18 points in the second half including three 3-pointers while Sullivan scored eight including two more 3-pointers.

With 8:04 to play in the game, Sullivan picked up his fourth foul and had to sit out for a majority of the remaining minutes. Rhodes made one more run to five points, but Whitman hit some key shots in the final three minutes to pull away and move on to round two.

Rhodes put together a fantastic effort, with many chances to knock off the top team in the nation without a few key players. Sullivan was terrific, scoring 22 points on 8 of 9 shooting including six 3-pointers. Nyawata scored 21 including four 3-pointers.

Darst had 17 points while senior Tyler Gee had 10 points with seven boards and two steals. Samson, Berry, and Dalton all had two steals in the contest while Gee and freshmen Nick De Feria, Mitch Weatherford, and Kendrick Ashby.

Rhodes concludes their season at 17-11 and finish as champions as the Southern Athletic Association. They say goodbye to four incredible seniors in Tyler Gee, Brennan Sullivan, J.J. Weir, and Andrew Lowrie.