A resilient showing from Trae Broadnax and Rice Basketball propelled the Owls past North Texas in double overtime at Tudor Fieldhouse.
A 10-2 run from the Mean Green just past the midpoint of the first half represented the only tangible difference in what was more or less an evenly matched basketball game between Rice Basketball and visiting North Texas at Tudor Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening. The two Texas teams exchanged four lead changes with one tie in the first half as Rice did its damage from three and North Texas won in the paint.
North Texas took a nine-point lead into the break, the largest of the game by either side to that point. Less than two minutes into the second half, it was gone. Trae Broadnax and Nick Anderson combined for nine quick points to bring the score back level, setting up another series of back-and-forth minor leads through the next several minutes of action.
Rice owned the middle portion of the half, leading for almost 10 minutes of regulation before a 13-3 run from North Texas turned a modest Rice advantage into a narrow lead for the road team. Broadnax would bring the game even again, knocking down a pair of clutch free throws in the final second and sending the game to overtime.
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The Owls controlled the next session, never trailing but never managing to create enough distance to close things out. North Texas drained a pair of free throws of their own in the final seconds to force a second over time.
Anderson got things started with a three. North Texas answered with four points to pull in front. Several Mean Green misses from the free throw line later, Broadnax closed things out with the game’s final four points before an errant three ball secured the Owls’ victory.
Rice Basketball improves to 10-13 with the win. The Owls are 6-6 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season and 1-2 in overtime, earning their first win in extras this season on Wednesday, and taking two extra periods to do it.
The relief postgame was palpable. “I was going to be very upset if we played that long a game to not get the win,” Anderson said.
Final Box | Rice 86, North Texas 83 (2OT)
What They’re Saying
Key takeaway | Players Make Plays
Midway through the second half it was certainly looking like it wouldn’t be Trae Broadnax’s night. The veteran guard began the game 1-for-10 from the field. The shots weren’t falling.
“It’s too late for the not your night stuff. He’s a veteran player. You gotta keep playing the game,” Lanier said. “Every scouting report is geared toward him. He feels his way through the game.”
Broadnax finished the game 4-for-6, converting in the most crucial moments. He made two free throws with less than three seconds remaining in regulation to force the first overtime. Then, in overtime, he made back-to-back jumpers in the final minute, giving the Owls just enough cushion to reach a second extra period. And of course, Broadnax scored the deciding basket and iced the game with two more free throws.
“I’ve had games like that throughout my whole career,” Broadnax said. “I wasn’t deterred at all. Just to the best of my ability, you’ve got to keep hunting good ones. And that’s what I tried to do. [I was] undeterred in my mindset.”