Rhodes

Kevin Phelps knew he had a lot to make up for. The Centre College quarterback had four first-half turnovers Saturday - three interceptions and a fumble - and was nearly benched by coach Andy Frye as the Colonels trailed Rhodes 14-7. But the junior engineered four second-half scoring drives, two of which he scored on, and did not turn the ball over as the Colonels rallied and beat the Lynx 31-27 at Farris Stadium for their third straight win to start the season. "I wasn't thinking a bit about it in the second half.

The Centre College offense faces one of its biggest challenges of the season this weekend, but that doesn't mean the defense gets a pass. The Colonels' defense will be asked to do its part by stopping a steadily improving Rhodes offense in the homecoming game Saturday at Farris Stadium. That should keep the Colonels in a contest in which points figure to be at a premium. "In my opinion, it's going to be a low-scoring game," Frye said. "You never know how it's going to play out, but I think it'll be low scoring.

Editor's note: This story from a Nov. 1 win was inadvertently omitted when stories were posted to the Website. MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A goal-line stand by the Centre College defense and a 95-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Pinque helped the Colonels fight off a rally by Rhodes and preserve a 23-15 win Saturday. Rhodes did all it could to erase a 16-point deficit, but Centre made big plays on both sides of the ball to win for the second straight week and the fourth time in five games.

When Centre College packs for its trip to Texas later this week, this win should fit nicely in its luggage. The Colonels will be playing for a conference championship and a NCAA playoff bid next weekend, and they'll be riding high into the Lone Star State after their 37-10 win over Rhodes on Saturday. Centre rolled to a dominating victory that coach Andy Frye said sets his team up as well as possible for its crucial game at Trinity. "We needed this momentum going to Texas," Frye said.

Thursday, March 23 College baseball Centre at Emory, 3 p.m. Friday, March 24 Men's college golf Centre in Jekyll Island Collegiate Invitational at Jekyll Island, Ga., day 1 Women's college golf Centre in Jekyll Island Collegiate Invitational at Jekyll Island, Ga., day 1 Men's college tennis Centre at Rhodes, 4 p.m. Women's college tennis Centre at Rhodes, 4 p.m. ...

BOX SCORES Sunday's Games At Memphis, Tenn. MEN Centre College 88, Rhodes 81 CENTRE (13-5, 5-3 SCAC) - Thomas Britt 5-9 2-2 16, Matt Nestheide 5-10 8-9 21, Matt Jacobson 2-7 1-1 5, Coy Zerhusen 5-6 1-2 11, Reggie Magnusson 8-16 5-8 22, Rob Matthews 1-3 2-2 5, T.C. Thomas 3-5 0-0 6, Adam Patterson 0-1 0-1 0, John Patterson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 30-59 19-25 88. RHODES (10-10, 2-7 SCAC) - Joe Thompson 7-16 2-2 18, Joey Daley 5-8 0-0 12, Rami Almefty 7-14 5-6 20, Matthew Jakes 5-12 2-3 13, Cory Smith 1-4 4-4 6, Justin Strong 2-6 0-0 5, Justin Long 2-4 1-2 7. Totals 29-64 14-17 81. Halftime-Centre 42, Rhodes 32. 3-point goals-Centre 9-21 (Britt 4-5, Nestheide 3-5, Jacobson 0-5, Magnusson 1-1, Matthew 1-3, Thomason 0-2)

The Centre College men's golf team finished fourth out of six teams Monday in the Rhodes/Mirimichi Invitational at Millington, Tenn. Patrick Davidson and Rob Aldrich tied for ninth place for Centre, finishing 10 strokes off the lead at 157. Both shot 78-79 in the 36-hole tournament at Mirimichi Golf Course. Boyle County High School alumnus Grant Blevins (76-83 - 159) tied for 18th place, John Minton (86-74 - 160) tied for 20th place and Wilson Trent (77-85 - 162) tied for 24th.

MEMPHIS - With just over three minutes left in the first half, hot-shooting Centre College had a 39-14 lead over host Rhodes College Sunday. However, the Colonels had to survive a missed 3-pointer at the buzzer to win 76-74 and earn the right to host the Southern Athletic Association Tournament. Centre and Rhodes (16-9) tied for first place with 11-3 records, but the Colonels got the No. 1 tourney seed by virtue of a sweep of Rhodes. Centre (18-5) will host Berry, the No. 8 seed, Friday at 1 p.m. If the Colonels win, they will play the Sewanee-Oglethorpe survivor Saturday at 6 p.m. The tourney championship game will be Sunday at 2 p.m. Josh Karsner had 14 points, including four 3-pointers, in the first half at Rhodes.

Centre College went to a zone defense with about 17 minutes to play and that enabled the Colonels to come from behind to beat Rhodes College 70-55 here Sunday. Centre (14-3) trailed 33-29 at halftime before outscoring Rhodes 41-22 in the second half to get what coach Greg Mason called one of the “sweeter” wins of the year. “Rhodes is very good and swept us last year, something a conference team had not done since 2004,” said Mason. “There were big implications for the conference tournament with this game and it was a big win for us. We are starting to slowly get a little more national recognition now.” Mason said 6-5 point guard Andrew Galow, who had 14 points, was a big matchup problem for Centre and one reason the Colonels went to the zone.

The Centre College women side-stepped a trap Friday night. The Colonels were facing a winless opponent less than 48 hours before a chance to play for first place in their conference - a chance that was in danger of slipping away for a time. Chelsea Benham and Paige Baechle weren't about to let that happen, however. Benham scored 29 points and grabbed 17 rebounds - both career highs - and Baechle had 13 points and 16 rebounds to help host Centre fight off an upset bid by Hendrix and win 67-55.

Rhodes' Kevin Vieira scored on a 4-yard run with 3 minutes, 34 seconds left Saturday, then Tyler Perkins added the two-point conversion as the Lynx downed Centre College 31-24 in the Colonels' season finale. “It was a game of mistakes, but the kids played hard, and I'm proud of that,”¿Centre coach Andy Frye said. “I think the disappointment was in that last drive.” Centre (6-4) went up 24-23 on a 9-yard pass from Heath Haden to Brandon Kamp with 6:34 to go. The touchdown was set up when Perkins' punt went just 1 yard, giving the Colonels the ball at the Rhodes 16 yard line.

It was a tough choice, but wrestling in college turned out to be the best choice for Rhodes Bell. The Danville senior signed with Lindsey Wilson on Monday, and said it was hard to pick wrestling over baseball. “I really like the physical side of it, and I feel I have a lot more growing to do in wrestling,”¿Bell said. “And I had quite a bit of success in the time I wrestled. I feel I can grow a lot more as a wrestler than I could in baseball.” Bell thought he would actually play baseball in college before deciding on wrestling, and said he looked at Shawnee State and Lincoln Memorial University.

The Centre College men and women lost to Rhodes in their final regular-season games Sunday at Alumni Gymnasium. Rhodes rallied to defeat the Centre women 58-56, and the Centre men attempted their own rally but came up short in an 83-74 loss. Both teams begin play in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournaments Friday in Birmingham, Ala.   Women Rhodes 58, Centre 56 - Centre (21-3, 14-2 Southern Collegiate Athletic  Conference) held a 16-point lead early in the second half, then went cold and saw Rhodes (17-7, 10-5)

It's not that Rhodes Bell doesn't care about his matches during the regular season, It's just that regular-season success isn't part of the Danville senior's end game. Bell finished fifth in the state last year in the 160-pound class. He is wrestling at 170 pounds this year and is striving for an even better finish at the state tournament next month. “I'm still just working, it doesn't really matter to the end. They had me ranked during the season liked 15th, and I end up placing fifth.

As soon as the football game ended Saturday at Centre College, the waiting game began. The Colonels have done all they can to make their case for a playoff berth, adding one last line to their resume with a 41-28 victory over Rhodes at Farris Stadium. They will find out tonight whether it was enough. The 32-team field for the NCAA Division III playoffs will be announced online at 6 p.m., and Centre is looking to land one of nine at-large berths. “I think we will. I think we definitely deserve to be in there.