Rice Basketball started fast and never slowed down, rolling to a convincing road win over UTSA, courtesy of a blistering performance from deep.
Nick Anderson opened the scoring with a three. Jalen Smith added another. Then Broadnax. Then Smith. The first four field goals Rice basketball knocked down on Wednesday night in San Antonio all came from distance and propelled the Owls to a 12-3 lead, a distance that would linger for quite some time.
After Broadnax broke the three streak with a layup to go up 11, UTSA would be back within double-digits just one more time in the remainder of the first half. Rice led by as many as 19 before the break. The Roadrunners would close the half on a 13-5 run, making it clear the Owls would have to keep up their pace to maintain their lead.
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Keep up, they did. Rice matched every UTSA run of the second half with a volley of their own, never allowing their margin to dip below nine points, a mark the Roadrunners would reach on multiple occasions but never surpass. The Owls knocked down five free throws in the final two minutes, draining the clock before one last triple with 11 seconds to spare.
Rice Basketball improves to 8-10 with the victory. The Owls are 3-6 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.
Final Box | Rice 89, UTSA 73
Key takeaway | Making it Rain
There are good shooting nights. There are great shooting nights. And then there’s the kind of performance Rice basketball put on display in San Antonio on Wednesday. The Owls seemingly could not missing, knocking down a season-best 16 three pointers.
Rice was equally dangerous from two, missing just nine field goals from inside the three point arc. When you shoot it at that well, even a solid 43.5 percent shooting night from the other side isn’t enough to slow you down.
That level of offensive success isn’t something that can be replicated on a whim, but it is proof of what’s possible. In a season with defensive struggles, the offense rounding into form was necessary, but few could have imagined the ceiling would be quite this high.
Up Next: vs Temple (Wed, Jan. 21 at 7:00 pm)
