MEMPHIS, TN -- Jonah Johnson (Cibolo/Steele) had a season-high 20 points, three rebounds, and two steals as Rhodes College (8-2) defeated Texas Lutheran (4-4) 89-76 Sunday evening to win the Hilgeman Holiday Classic at Mallory Gymnasium in Memphis.

The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 28 points, but the Bulldogs stormed back by outscoring the Lynx 52-39 in the second half. Rhodes scored 32 of its 89 points in the paint, shot 24-of-31 from the free throw line, and out-rebounded TLU 39-33 to halt TLU's momentum after back-to-back wins.

The free throw line swung the game as the Lynx thrived while the Bulldogs struggled, shooting 7-of-20 from the line.

Teddy Tapken (Austin/Lake Travis) finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Tapken was named to the All-Tournament Team following the game after averaging 17 points on the weekend. Semaj Edwards (Lanham, MD/Oak Hill) added 13 points and a team-high six rebounds and Mason Wallace (San Antonio/Judson) was the final Bulldog in double figures with ten points.

The Lynx, who entered the game 6-0 at home, came out on fire starting the game with a 19-4 run. The combination of poor shooting, turnovers, and 55.9% shooting from the Lynx saw the Bulldogs trail by as many as 28 points and face a 26-point deficit at halftime. Edwards led the TLU offense with 11 points in the first half.

TLU punched back in the second half, exiting the locker room with increased energy to respond from the undesired results of the first half. 

Johnson - who had just one point in the first half - scored 19 of his 20 points in the second half. Johnson was a spark plug off the bench for the Bulldogs scoring the first eight points of the half for TLU as they chipped away at the Lynx lead. Johnson and Tapken would lead the Bulldogs offensively in the second half combining for 32 of the Bulldogs 52 second half points as a duo.

Despite the Bulldogs best efforts, they were never able to get the Rhodes College lead to single digits in the second half with the smallest margin being 11 points with 18 seconds remaining.

TLU will enjoy the Christmas break before returning to action on Tuesday, December 30 when they welcome Lycoming College to Seguin for the first time in program history. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 PM. The game will be streamed on FloCollege. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.

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