No. 12 Seed Rice Basketball took an early lead but couldn’t hang on, falling to No. 13 Seed Charlotte in the AAC Tournament.
The opening game of the AAC Tournament started out at a modest pace with Rice Basketball and Charlotte trading baskets in the early minutes of the first half. The 49ers held a modest lead before the Owls started scoring in earnest. Trailing by one midway just past the midpoint of the half, Rice would go on a 15-3 run jumping out to a big lead. They’d hold an 11 point advantage at the break and looked to be in control, but Charlotte wasn’t done just yet.
The 49ers came out of the break with furious intensity, getting the game back within three with a 10-2 burst to open the second half. Rice would hold the edge for some time past that, but the margin would never reach double digits again. Instead, Charlotte drew level, tying the game at 52 with 4:41 to play.
More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Offense
Once again, Rice basketball found itself with the game on the line in the final moments. Free throws were exchanged and Rice had the ball down by one with 13.3 remaining. A jumper from Trae Broadnax bounced off the rim, Charlotte grabbed the board and just like that the Owls’ season was effectively over.
Rice ends its season with a finale record of 13-19.
Final Box | Charlotte 64, Rice 61
FINAL | Charlotte 64, @RiceMBB 61
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) March 12, 2025
The Owls' season comes to an end in Denton. pic.twitter.com/IbLc4WPTxe
Key takeaway | Learning to close
This marks the 13th straight defeat for Rice basketball in games decided by six points or fewer. Bad luck plays into any such streak that disastrous in nature, but the clear inability to close out games is unmistakable. Credit is due to coach Rob Lanier, who addressed his team’s most glaring flaw head on.
“It’s kind of been the same story for us throughout the year. We’ve been in a lot of these close games and haven’t found a way to win it, Lanier said. “I told them that I’ll take responsibility for my part in that, and going forward the guys who come back, they have to share in that responsibility so we can grow and we can change the face of what this program is all about.”
Even though this kind of result isn’t new, the emotions post game were still very real.
“No, there’s no less pain,” Lanier said.
Likewise, guard Trae Broadnax opened up about the growing weight of the team’s struggles in those clutch situations this season. “I think when they don’t go the right way, I think there’s a lot of anxiety that rises up just because we haven’t got over the hump in so many of those close games down the stretch,” he said “You can turn the entire thing around in terms of results so that you can get that monkey off your back, but we never got to the point where we could do that.”
Broadnax has an additional year of eligibility remaining and indicated he’s looking forward to joining Lanier in rectifying the Owls’ biggest flaw. The 2024-2025 season is in the books. That work can start right now.
