ATLANTA, Ga. (February 6, 2022) - The Rhodes Lynx suffered their third consecutive loss on Sunday afternoon, falling on the road against the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels by a score of 70-52. The loss drops Rhodes to 9-12 (4-7 SAA) while Oglethorpe improves to 16-5 (10-1 SAA). 

Both teams swapped made threes to start the game, with Oglethorpe then adding five more points to jump out to an 8-3 lead. A Koki Wiley layup made it a one possession game; unfortunately, the Lynx would never get closer than three points for the rest of the matchup. There was a six-minute stretch in the first half where Rhodes failed to score, which opened the door for the Petrels to increase their lead. A Jefferson Walker three stymied the run, but Oglethorpe was quick to respond with a 7-0 run to make the score 22-10. Rhodes did not stop fighting, and had a mini 7-2 run late in the half to cut the lead to single digits. The Oglethorpe onslaught continued however, and the Petrels held a 39-22 lead at the half. 

Rhodes shot 36% from the field in the first half, but were solid from the outside, making four of nine attempts. On a strange note, only two total free throws were attempted by both teams in the first half. A gamechanging stat was turnovers; Rhodes gave up the ball ten times, while Oglethorpe only turned the ball over twice. 

The second half was an improvement for Rhodes as they looked much smoother on the offensive end. The Lynx scored on four of their first six possessions in the second half, with buckets from Arness Georgetown II, Zavien Williams and Jalen Essick. The defense struggled to stop the Petrels consistently, and they were able to maintain a comfortable lead. The Lynx ran low on gas again near the midpoint of the half, going four game minutes without a point. By the time Seth Aeschliman converted down low at the ten minute mark, the Petrels held a 58-36 lead. The final ten minutes of the game were simply a matter of running the clock, which Oglethorpe did to perfection. When the final buzzer sounded, the final score was 70-58.

Jalen Essick was the only Lynx in double figures scoring, with 12 points and five rebounds. Eight other Rhodes players scored in the game, but no one had more than four made field goals. 

This was the final regular season road game for the Lynx. They have three more dates on the schedule, all being held at Mallory Gymnasium. The two Rhodes seniors will be honored before the Millsaps game on Friday, February 11. On Sunday, February 13 the Lynx will host Birmingham Southern. They will then wrap up the regular season with a matchup against Hendrix on Tuesday, February 15.