ROME, Ga. - The University of the South men's basketball team returns to the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Men's Basketball Tournament Game by eliminating Rhodes College, 77-63, in the semifinals of the 2023 SAA Men's Basketball Tournament, Saturday evening from the Cage Center on the campus of Berry College.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Score: (3) Sewanee (18-9) 77, (2) Rhodes (18-7) 63
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HOW IT HAPPENED
-After
Graham Smith started the game on a layup, the Lynx went on a 7-0 run at the first media timeout.
-Rhodes would maintain the lead until the seven-minute mark in the opening half. Trailing 19-15, Sewanee went on an 18-2 run in about a five-minute span to shift the lead back to the Purple and White for good.
-
Tre Corrigan's last-second layup at the end of the half gave the Purple Tigers, the 35-28 lead at the break.
-Jalen Essick started the second half with two free throws, but Sewanee essentially put the game away with a 14-2 run to swell the lead to its largest of 17, 49-32.
-The Tigers ran away from the Lynx in the final 20 minutes thanks to Rhodes shooting 11-of-27 from the field and allowed them to just seven 3-point attempts.
BACK TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
-For the third time in the history of the SAA, the University of the South will make an appearance in the finals of the tournament (2016-19). Sewanee is seeking its second SAA Tournament Championship after knocking off top-seed Centre in 2019.
-The Tigers will be seeking the program's seventh conference championship (1966-73-75-76-97-2019).
PRESS CONFERENCE
Catch
Graham Smith and head coach
Brian Emerson after Sewanee's win on Saturday.
SEWANEE KEY STATISTICS
-Thanks to 16 points in the second half,
Graham Smith led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Adding six boards for the game, the sophomore went 6-for-7 from the field in 15 minutes during the second stanza.
-
Russ Marr scored 16 points with five rebounds and two assists, while
Colin Kahl posted a 5-of-7 performance for 12 points.
-
Luka Avaliani had 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
-As a team, Sewanee shot 53.6% (30-of-56) from the field and 50% (10-of-20) from downtown. Outscoring the Lynx 42-35 in the second half, the Purple Tigers shot 57% (16-of-28) from the floor.
RHODES KEY STATISTICS
-Phil Dotson led the Lynx with 15 bench points, followed by Zavien Williams' 14.
-Jalen Essick, Rhodes' leading scorer, was limited to 10 points, with six coming from the charity stripe.
UP NEXT
After No. 22 Berry College knocked off Birmingham-Southern College, 78-63, in the other semifinal game, it will be the top-seeded Vikings and the 3-seeded Tigers for all the marbles on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT.
Berry swept the regular season series from the Tigers en route to an undefeated 14-0 mark in conference play. However, Sewanee still leads the all-time series, 16-11.
It will be the third time the teams will meet in the tournament, with each team picking up a victory. Sewanee defeated Berry, 70-63, in the semifinals of the 2019 tournament. In the 2020 quarterfinals, the Vikings had a 77-50 victory over the Tigers. Sunday's meeting will be the first championship game matchup.
The Vikings are seeking their fourth tournament championship, while the Tigers are looking for their second.
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