Memphis, Tennessee ~ The Rhodes College Men's basketball team suffered their first loss of the season tonight, dropping a close game to Westminster, 79-80. With the loss Rhodes falls to 2-1 on the young season. The Lynx will be at home again over the Thanksgiving Break as they host the Thanksgiving Classic with Earlham College, Principia College and University of the South – Sewanee all coming to Mallory Gymnasium.
The Lynx started hot, scoring on their first three possessions of the game. Layups by Andyshea Saberioon (Houston, TX) and Kory Kilpatrick (Athens, GA) started the run and Andrew Galow (Oswego, IL) knocked down a three pointer to give the Lynx a 7-5 lead with just two minutes gone by in the half. Rhodes struggled for a basket over the next four minutes but the defense held firm, allowing Westminster to only score five points in the stretch. Galow knocked in a midrange jumper to end the scoring drought for the Lynx, closing the gap to one point. Westminster responded with a 10-3 run and built an eight point lead before a Saberioon bucket and jumper by senior Reid Hamilton (Birmingham, AL) cut the lead to four. Westminster seemed to take control of the game at that point building a 13 point lead over the next three minutes, but once again the Lynx battled back. Back to back three pointers by Saberioon and Kilpatrick started a 12-0 run. Saberioon scored seven of those twelve points in the run. Westminster built the lead to six with just under two remaining in the half but Chris Eberle (Cincinnati, OH) and Larry Cunningham (St. Charles, MO) layup brought the Lynx to within two points at halftime, trailing 42-44. Saberioon led all scorers in the half with 15 points and Kilpatrick led all rebounders with 6 boards in the first twenty minutes.
An opening bucket by Hamilton tied the score at 44 and the game battled back and forth for the remainder. Westminster built a six point lead but Rhodes never quit and a Saberioon bucket knotted the score at 56 with 14 minutes remaining. From that point, neither team gained full control nor had a lead larger than 4 points. Galow netted a three pointer with less than six minutes remaining to give Rhodes a short lived three lead, but the very next possession Westminster knocked in a three pointer of their own. Westminster scored four straight points to take a two point lead with just one and half minutes remaining, but Hamilton knocked down a big three pointer giving Rhodes a one point lead. Westminster knocked down a three with 21 seconds to play, setting up the exciting final play for Rhodes. After a quick timeout, Rhodes worked the ball down into the low post for a shot attempt by Hamilton that rimmed out and Westminster grabbed the rebound and knocked in two ensuing free throws to ice the game. A long three pointer by Galow brought the Lynx to within one point, but Rhodes could not get the final steal and lost a close, hard fought game.
On the night Rhodes shot 52% from the field and blistered the nets from beyond the arc, knocking in 9 of 18 attempts. The Lynx placed four players in double digits with Hamilton scoring a game high 22 points, Galow netted a career high with 19 and Saberioon continued a great weekend with 17 after getting a career high 18 the previous night. Kilpatrick chipped in 11 points and 8 rebounds (game high). The Lynx also dished out a season high 21 assists in the loss.
BOXSCORE
Rhodes will be back in action on Friday night as they host the Thanksgiving Classic by Hampton Inn ~ Poplar. Game schedule is below:
Friday, November 27th
Earlham vs. Sewanee 5:00 pm
Rhodes vs. Principia 7:00 pm
Saturday, November 28th
Principia vs. Sewanee 1:00 pm
Rhodes vs. Earlham 3:00 pm
