MEMPHIS, Tenn. (January 23, 2022) - The Rhodes men's basketball team took home their second consecutive conference win with a 71-66 win over the Centre Colonels on Sunday afternoon at Mallory Gymnasium. The win moves the Lynx to 8-9 (3-4 SAA) on the year, while Centre falls to 9-8 (3-3 SAA). 

Rhodes came out of the gates hot on offense, jumping out to a 7-2 lead thanks to a Zavien Williams three and two tough makes from Jalen Essick. Moments later, Arness Georgetown II finished a three-point play, followed by another Essick make to extend the Lynx lead to 12-6. After the two teams traded three point makes around the 14:20 mark, a lid was put on both rims as the game went for more than three minutes without a point being scored. Centre's Dustin Gerald broke the lapse in scoring with back-to-back turnaround jumpers that knotted the game up at 15 each at the halfway point of the first half. It was an absolute slugfest from there, each team was able to answer their opponents effort on both ends of the court. The score would tie six more times before the half. With one second on the clock, Gerald was able to knife through the Lynx defense and bank in a shot to give Centre a 35-33 lead heading into half. 

Centre's RJ Smith and Rhodes' Zavien Williams had a one on one duel to start things in the second half. They traded threes on back-to-back possessions, with Smith then adding a pair of free throws on the Colonels next possession. Williams' counter was nailing another triple, his third of the game, to keep the Lynx within one. Coming out of the media timeout, Williams added another three-pointer on a nice pass from Jalen Essick to make it a 46-43 game. Moments later, after Smith scored again for the Colonels, Koki Wiley got in on the long distance action with a three of his own, followed by four points from Essick to make it a 58-52 lead for Rhodes. Centre showed toughness, chipping away at the Rhodes lead until the final minute of the game. With Rhodes up 65-60, Smith came through with a four-point play to pull his team within one. However, the Lynx were able to handle the ensuing full-court press and were able to sink their free throws late to hold on. In the final 24 seconds of game play, Williams and Mac James combined to go 6-6 from the line as Rhodes held on for the 71-66 win. 

According to head coach Zo Goodson, the Lynx gameplan was to attack the Centre zone early. Coming into the game, the Colonels ranked second in the SAA in fewest points allowed. Rhodes was able to knock down open looks in this one, as they shot 41.7% from three and an impressive 19-20 (95%) from the free throw line. 

"We work on special situations everyday in practice, whether it's late game, late shot clock, or just running a to-minute drill," stated Goodson. "We put pressure on our players to make shots during practice so they are ready when those pressure situations arise in the game."

Freshman Zavien Williams set a new career-high with 18 points in this one. He was flanked by 17 points and eight boards from Jalen Essick, and 17 points and six rebounds from Koki Wiley. 

A pair of road games await the Lynx this weekend. They will travel to Sewanee on January 28th, followed by a rematch with Centre on January 30.