DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (December 20, 2021) - The Rhodes Lynx wrapped up their holiday trip to Florida on a sour note, falling to the Salisbury Gulls by a score of 72-54 on Monday evening at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach. The loss evens the Lynx' record at 5-5 n the year while Salisbury improves to 5-7.

It took a minute for both teams to get going early before Koki Wiley put the first points on the board with a mid-range jumper. The Gulls would respond with eight straight points, including four from Sean Carr. After both teams swapped buckets, Salisbury then went on another scoring run, putting up nine straight before the Lynx could respond to take a 19-6 lead. Still, the Lynx showed fight, clawing their way back into the game by way of the three-ball. With eight minutes to go, Rhodes took over offensively, with Jefferson Walker, Kevin Shen, and Xavien Williams all nailing shots from deep. Their defense also stepped up, and a second triple from Shen gave Rhodes a 26-25 lead with three minutes remaining in the half. Salisbury took the lead back with a pair of Brandon Craig buckets, and the two teams headed into halftime with a 29-27 ballgame in favor of the Gulls. 

Head Coach Zo Goodson was pleased with his team's defensive effort in the first half as they limited Salisbury to 35% shooting from the floor, including 1-12 from three. 

Unfortunately for Rhodes, Salisbury was able to adjust at halftime and came out hot, scoring the first seven points of the second half. The Lynx were not able to match the offensive effort tallying just two field goals in the first five minutes of the half. Near the twelve-minute mark, the Lynx received threes from Jalen Essick, Jeremiah Cook, and Essick again to pull within eight. The Gulls responded with deep balls of their own on their next two possessions. The final ten minutes of the game saw a snail's pace as Salisbury took the air out of the ball maintaining their lead before eventually taking the game 72-54.

Twelve Lynx saw time on the court in this one with Shen and Essick tying for the team-lead in points with eight. Koki Wiley managed four points, but led the team in rebounds with eight and assists with three. The Gulls had three players finish in double figures, with Brandon Craig leading all scorers with 17 points. 

Next up for Rhodes is a home game against Mississippi Unievrsity for Women on Wednesday, December 29th at Mallory Gym. Tip is scheduled for 6:00 pm.