CONWAY – Hendrix hung tough with Rhodes in their Southern Athletic Association (SAA) opener on Wednesday afternoon before giving way late in a 84-75 loss to the Lynx.
The contest was much closer than when the two teams met a month ago in a rare non-conference bout, where Rhodes won 87-65 at Mallory Gymnasium.
Hendrix jumped out on top of the Lynx early to take a 9-0 lead and led 15-5 at the 12:20 mark of the first half. Rhodes battled back to score 11 unanswered points to take a one point lead before Sky Tschurr’s jumper put the Warriors back on top. That basket was part of a 7-0 scoring run solely from Tschurr, who subsequently knocked down a three then came up with a steal after the ensuing inbound and finished with a layup on the fast break.
After Tyler Deithloff’s jumper gave Hendrix a 24-19 lead, Rhodes scored 9 unanswered as part of a 19-4 scoring run to take a 38-28 lead late in the half. Carson Bower’s layup with 1:05 remaining cut Rhodes’ lead to 8 heading into halftime.
The Warriors kept the contest close in the opening few minutes of the second half and used a 10-2 run to take a 45-44 lead at the 15:48 mark.
Rhodes looked to be in the driver’s seat midway through the half after leading by 7, but Jaxon Herrera then produced knocked down three consecutive triples in the span of a minute to hand Hendrix a 65-63 lead with 8:40 left. Beau Kronenberger and Rowdy Robinson followed up that run with back-to-back layups to give Hendrix their largest lead since early in the first half. But the Lynx would not stay down for long, going on a 11-0 run to take a 74-69 lead with 3:31 remaining. Tyler Deithloff scored back-to-back layups to keep Hendrix within reach late in the game before Rhodes was eventually able to see the game out down the stretch.
Herrera led the Warriors with 15 points, while Deithloff finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds.
The Warriors shot 45.7% from the field and 36.4% from behind the arc.
Hendrix (2-12, 0-1 SAA) will remain home to host Millsaps next Tuesday for a 3:00 PM tip-off at Grove Gymnasium.
