MEMPHIS – The No. 25 Trinity men's basketball team (11-4, 3-1 SAA) fell to Rhodes College 77-73 (12-3, 3-1 SAA), creating a three-way tie at the top of the SAA standings with Sewanee. The Tigers rallied in the second half but could not overcome a double-digit deficit the Lynx built up in the first period.

Trinity's poor shooting from deep played a major factor in tonight's loss, as they made just 22% of their threes and missed all six of their three-point attempts in the first half. Rhodes, on the other hand, was efficient from deep, making 45% of their threes. Both teams were even on overall shooting percentage, making 42% of their shots, but the three-point percentage gap was responsible for much of the gap on the scoreboard. The Tigers held slight advantages in the rebounding and turnover columns but were unable to capitalize significantly on any extra chances. While Rhodes had five players with double-digit scoring numbers, Trinity had only two.

Will Bronson (Dallas, Texas / Jesuit) turned in his ninth double-double of the season, and his fourth straight, with 17 points, 10 rebounds (4 of them on the offensive glass) and 2 blocks on 60% (6-10) shooting. Dean Balo (Dallas, Texas / JJ Pearce) had 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals on 50% (5-10) shooting. Zach Fenn (Covington, La. / Saint Paul's) had his usual big night on defense, grabbing 6 steals and marking his sixth game of the season with 5 or more steals. Tonight marks Fenn's 44th straight game with a steal, dating back to his sophomore year.

The Rundown
Rhodes got out to a hot start, scoring the first 7 points of the game to take an early 7-0 lead with 16:40 remaining. The Tigers battled quickly back, as a Balo bucket and the foul in transition capped off a quick 5-0 run and brought the lead within two, 11-13. Just a few minutes later, Trinity grabbed its first lead of the game, as a Bronson layup put the Tigers up 15-14 with 11:45 to play. That would be their only lead of the game, however, as the Lynx responded with a quick 11-3 run to reassert their lead, going up 25-18 with 8:18 to play. Trinity continued to battle, and with 3:58 to play, another Bronson layup made the score 24-29. Rhodes responded with a 13-2 lead over the next three and a half minutes, and the game started to look out of reach for the Tigers. With 32 seconds to play, the Lynx led 42-26. The period ended with Rhodes in the lead, 42-28.

Rhodes began the second half with two quick threes, and extended their lead to 18, up 48-30 with 18:17 to play. Trinity responded with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes, and their scoring machine looked to have come alive as the Lynx led by a score of 48-38 with 16:04 to play. Rhodes reextended its lead to 15 with 13:38 to play, but a 9-0 Trinity run made the score 50-56 with 12:13 to play, and the fans had themselves a ball game once again. The two teams continued to trade runs, however, as an 8-0 Lynx run in response put the lead back up to double-digits, 64-50 with 9:23 to play. Once again, the Tigers went on a run, as 5 points from Joshua Chesney sent his team on a 7-0 run of their own to put the score at 57-64 with 7:47 remaining. Over the final minutes, the two teams traded buckets rather than quick scoring runs, and the lead remained well within reach, but not too close for comfort. With 21 seconds left, and the Lynx still up by 7, a Balo three-pointer on the fastbreak made it a two-score game, as Rhodes led 77-73. The Tigers missed two three-pointers in the final seconds, however, and the home Lynx ended the night with a 79-73 win.

Looking Ahead 
The Tigers will travel to Jackson, Mississippi to take on Millsaps College (11-4, 2-2 SAA), who defeated Rhodes on Jan. 3 by a score of 81-70.