Rice basketball caught fire late, taking down Western Michigan to stay perfect at the Owl Invitational with one game still to play.
A day after a furious second half explosion to take down Georgia Southern, Rice basketball faced an early test against Western Michigan in their second game of the Owl Invitation at Tudor Fieldhouse. Travis Evee opened the scoring with a three-pointer, but Western Michigan would spend the majority of the first half in front, leading by as many as eight points.
The lead would never stretch farther than that. Cam Sheffield hit a couple of baskets to get Rice back into the game. The two sides traded blows for a few more minutes before Rice closed the half on an 8-0 run in the final 28 seconds, with Quincy Olivari leveling the score with a triple of his own at the buzzer.
More: Rice Basketball Season Preview
Rice would jump out in front by four on a three from Travis Evee shortly after the break, but the lead would be short-lived. Western Michigan rallied, this time stretching their advantage to nine points at the midpoint of the half. The Owls would lead again until the clock went under 3:00 and Olivari drained another three-ball to put the home team up by one.
From then, Travis Evee put on a clinic at the charity stripe, knocking down his free throws and sending Rice home with a win.
Postgame thoughts from @RiceCoachPera after the win over Western Michigan on Saturday night.#GoOwls👐 x #GreenLightU pic.twitter.com/KTkRmkmWLk
— Rice Men’s Basketball (@RiceMBB) November 20, 2022
Player Spotlight | Travis Evee
Rice basketball had a few big performances that helped propel them to a win on Saturday, but it was the clutch shooting of Evee down the stretch that stole the show. He was 10-of-12 from the line on the afternoon, finishing a pristine 9-of-9 in the final three minutes, making it impossible for Western Michigan to mount a comeback. He just didn’t miss, including a three-pointer interspersed between the free throws to put the gam out of reach for good.
Final Box | Rice 96 – WMU 88
FINAL | Rice 96 – WMU 88
Rice moves to 2-0 at the Owl Invitational pic.twitter.com/EJtQazJ9b5
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) November 20, 2022
Up Next | Full Schedule
Rice basketball is two games into the Owl Invitational. They’ll finish on Monday against Houston Christian. After that, the Owls have another home game on deck, this time against Prairie View A&M on Nov. 30.
