MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Senior Art Walker reached a major milestone Sunday, as his 25th-ranked Centre men's basketball team defeated Rhodes, 98-76, inside Mallory Gymnasium.
 
Walker joined classmates Perry Ayers and Jacob Bates in the "1K Club," reaching 1,000 career points early in the second half of the victory.
 
The No. 25 Colonels improve to 18-2 overall and 8-1 in the Southern Athletic Association, winning their 11th straight while sending the host Lynx to 5-15 overall and 2-7 in-conference
 
Walker dropped a team-high 23 in the win, while Dawson Crump followed with 20 off the bench. Bates and Ayers recorded 18 and 16 points, respectively.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
- After a series of back-and-forth action, Crump and Walker created some separation for the Colonels, hitting consecutive 3-pointers to make it 20-14.
- Bailey Rakes hit a 3-pointer later in the half to make it 29-19, Centre's first double digit lead of the afternoon.
- The Colonels were lethal from long range in the opening half, at one point hitting 9 of 13 (including Crump's 4-for-4 start).
- Centre took a 46-36 lead into the half after Bates hit a put-back at the buzzer.
- The Lynx came out of the break on a tear, pulling within 48-44, but the Colonels answered with a crippling 18-4 stretch.
- Part of the run was a 3-pointer from Walker that pushed him over the 1,000-point plateau.
- Ayers was the catalyst during the decisive stretch, scoring 13 points while knocking down three 3-pointers in a row before the under-12 media timeout.
- Centre's lead was not threatened the rest of the way, and the Colonels led by as many as 21 points before a late Keegan Brewer basket made the final margin 22.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Centre knocked down 16 triples, good for a season high and the most since hitting 19 against Hendrix back on Jan. 26, 2018. Walker accounted for five 3-pointers, while Crump finished with four and Ayers three.
- The Colonels shot 54% overall (32-59) for the second time in two games against the Lynx, and have shot 50% or better for the 10th time this year.
- Crump paced Centre with six assists, while Jalen Williams recorded a team-leading three steals.
- Centre turned the ball over only four times and allowed just two offensive rebounds. Those figures led to a 20-5 advantage in points off turnovers and a 12-3 edge in second chance points.
- The Colonels scored 25 points in transition, 21 of which came in the second half.  
 
UP NEXT
Centre hosts Birmingham-Southern next Friday, Jan. 31, at 8 p.m. ET. The Colonels defeated the Panthers by a 77-68 score earlier this season on the road.