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Furious comeback falls short as Rice Basketball falls to SUU

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Rice basketball engineered a furious comeback, but couldn’t make the final defensive stop, falling to Southern Utah in the CBI Tournament.

Whether it was exhaustion, poor execution or just bad luck, Rice basketball started its quarterfinal round game against Southern Utah in a nine-point hole. SUU came out shooting extremely efficiently, knocking down 62 percent of their shots from the field in the first half as the Owls struggled immensely to get going.

“We just couldn’t make a shot,” head coach  Scott Pera said in dismay. “We couldn’t make a shot, other than Travis [Evee].”

It was Evee who kept Rice afloat. He scored a team-high 18 points in the first half while his teammates scored 21 combined. Rice went into the break trailing 12, in desperate need of a rally that wouldn’t come for quite a long time.

“I was hoping the run would be at the 17-minute mark or the 14-minute mark or the 9-minute mark,” Pera said.

Instead, that run came in the final minutes of the game. Trailing by 14 points with 6:30 to play, Rice started to chip away. Quincy Olivari hit some free throws then Mekhi Mason made a three to make it a nine-point game. Olivari and Max Fiedler (twice) each converted and-one opportunities, offset by a few SUU free throws to make it a six-point game. Cam Sheffield cut the deficit to three.

Then, with 24 seconds on the clock and the season on the line, Evee delivered the game-tying three. Southern Utah would drain the clock down to its final seconds then connect on the go-ahead jumper. Olivari’s long heave at the buzzer did not go and despite erasing an unthinkable deficit, the Owls’ season still ended in bitter fashion.

Final Box | SUU 81 – Rice 79

Key takeaway | Doomed by defense

A year ago, Rice basketball played in this same CBI Tournament in this same arena on this same court. Pera hasn’t forgotten because the image of last season’s CBI defeat is seared into his brain in much the same way this loss will be. After overcoming a late deficit, that time against Ohio, Rice watched the Bobcats hit the game-winner at the buzzer and end the Owls’ season.

“That’s two years in a row on the same basket,” Pera lamented.

This time around, Rice basketball doesn’t get to the final shot without several crucial defensive stops in the second half. It wasn’t all offense that fueled this comeback. That the bottom line remains the same. In back-to-back seasons Rice basketball has needed one final stop to prolong their season and they haven’t been able to do it.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball defeats BYU to advance in WNIT

In some respects, Pera is right when he credited his opponents and the player in question, Tevian Jones who ended with 30 points including that game-winner. “They made one more play. That kid made a heck of a shot,” Pera said. But the Owls are still going home.

If Rice basketball wants to be a championship-caliber program, they have to get drastically better on defense. They’ve proven time and time again they can find good shooters. They’ve proven they have the mental capacity to climb out of unthinkable holes. But they haven’t consistently been able to get the most important stop when their season depends on it. And now they’re going home.

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Rice Basketball upsets Duquesne to advance in 2023 CBI Tournament

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Rice basketball survived a three-point barrage by Duquesne and defeated the Dukes, moving on to the second round of the CBI Tournament.

A 12-Seed in the 2023 CBI Tournament, Rice basketball certainly didn’t play like an underdog in Daytona Beach on Sunday afternoon. After trading minor leads in the early portions of the first half, Rice combined a furious scoring assault with a stingy defensive stretch to go on an 18-2 run and take a 13-point lead over the Duquesne Dukes.

Duquesne didn’t stay down long, thundering back via a three-point assault. As Rice found success inside (dominating Duqeuense in the paint 46-18), Duquense knocked down 14 threes but did not hit a three for a span of almost 10 minutes of play, hampering their attempts at a comeback.

As has often been the case for Rice basketball this season, Travis Evee and Quincy Olivari led the way. After failing to score any points in the first half, Olivari came alive in the second, scoring a game-high 19 second-half points and propelling Rice to a late lead.

When asked what sparked Olivari’s key second-half resurgence, head coach Scott Pera credited Olivari’s maturity and poise. “I’ve coached him for four years,” he said. “Sometimes you say something to him and get on him and sometimes you say nothing because he knows… and he knew. And he was ready to go in the second half.”

The battle raged on that way until the final minutes when Andrew Akuchie hit a layup and Mekhi Mason followed that score immediately with a steal and two free throws. That put Rice up by 11 with 1:25 to play. Duquesne hit a few more threes from that point but was unable to dig out of the hole as Rice was able to survive and advance to the next round.

“It’s just another barrier we knocked down,” Pera said of the win. “[It’s] another step for the program and I’m just really proud of the guys.”

Final Box | Rice 84 – Duquesne 78

Key takeaway | Making the good times count

Consistency hasn’t been the hallmark of Rice basketball this season, but the Owls have certainly been explosive. In this game, Rice went on runs of 11-0, 7-0, 6-0 and 5-0 (twice), leading by as many as 13 points toward the end of the first half. With those highs, though, came the lows. Rice allowed runs of 10-0 and 8-0, both in the first half.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball defeats BYU to advance in WNIT

Eliminating the lapses on defense isn’t going to happen at this point in the season. In the interim, that means the solution is making those offensive explosions count. When Rice is hot, making that extra shot to turn a 5-0 run into a 7-0 run will help buy them some cushion in the event they need it later in the game and history shows, that time will probably come.

Up Next: CBI Tournament vs 4-Seed Southern Utah (1:00 p.m. CT)

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Rice Women’s Basketball edges BYU in first round of WNIT

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Rice women’s basketball built an early lead and held on, surviving a late rally from BYU to advance in the WNIT.

Despite playing on BYU’s home court, Rice women’s basketball looked like they were right at home on Friday night’s opening round game of the WNIT. The Owls’ jumped out to a 10-0 lead, blitzing the Cougars from the first possession.

BYU got things going later in the first quarter, but Rice matched them blow for blow thanks in large part to a big day from freshman Shelby Hayes who made her first postseason appearance particularly memorable. Hayes had 10 points and four rebounds in the first half, setting the tone for the early portions of the game.

After holding BYU to 38 percent shooting in the first half, Rice turned up the pressure in the third quarter. The Owls led by as many as 13 in that frame, holding BYU to 29 percent shooting from the field, but the Cougars wouldn’t stay silent for much longer. BYU thundered back in the fourth quarter, closing within two points and forcing a Rice timeout.

BYU threatened, but never took the lead, missing a pair of three pointers in the final 20 seconds. Rice would grab the rebound and win the ensuing battle of free throws to secure the win.

Final Box | Rice 71 – BYU 67

Key takeaway | Full Strength Owls

Rice women’s basketball did not have Destiny Jackson available in the Conference USA Tournament, and her absence was felt. Her ability to create on the offensive side of the court and drive to the basket played a significant role in the Owls’ early exit from that tournament and might help keep Rice dancing longer in their WNIT run.

The closing seconds of the first quarter served as a reminder of what Jackson brings to this team. With the clock ticking toward zero, she took on several defenders, slicing through the lane and delivering a layup, the half’s final points. Her ability to score puts the Owls’ opponents on notice and opens the door for her teammates. If Jackson is back, even in limited minutes, Rice will be dangerous going forward.

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Rice Baseball stymied in road loss to Baylor

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Rice Baseball offered little resistance in a Tuesday night road loss to Baylor, falling back below .500 on the season.

From the first Baylor batter, it was clear Rice baseball was going to be in for a long evening. A fly ball to left field was misplayed, initially ruled an error before later being revised as a leadoff triple. Regardless of how it was scored, a triple from the two-hole hitter on the next at bat put Rice behind early. Baylor would score two more runs in the first, pushing Rice into a 3-0 deficit after one.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball shows growth in HCU sweep

The second inning was more of the same. Rice was kept off the scoreboard and Baylor strung together more hits, this time a double followed by three consecutive singles to score a pair of runs. Up 5-0, the Bears leaned on their pitching staff the rest of the way with an insurance run added in the eighth. Rice was limited to two hits, and no runs in a quiet road loss in Waco.

What it means | Neither length nor strikes

Rice baseball hasn’t really gotten length out of any starter aside from Parker Smith. Given the number of arms the staff is working to break in, that might not be proof in itself of a problem, but those short stints combined with poor performances are alarming. And the damage they’ve done is unquestionable.

Tuesday’s starter, Mauricio Rodriguez, went two innings and allowed five runs. His season ERA has climbed to 8.83. He’s been roughed up in three of his last four starts, only finding success against UTRGV, but even that was limited to four innings.

More: Rice Baseball Nonconference State of the Program

As exhibited on Tuesday, the Rice offense is not yet good enough to routinely overcome massive early deficits. They did so against Louisiana in the Sunday game. They did it again against Houston Christian this past Sunday. Those were the exceptions. More often than not, it’s bad news. If Rice baseball can’t sort that out and avoid the implosions, it’s going to be a long season.

ON DECK | at UAB (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Baseball 2023: Nonconference State of the Program

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Rice Baseball begins conference play this week. Here’s where the program stands and what’s next for the Owls on the diamond this spring.

With a three-game set with UAB in Birmingham now on deck, Rice baseball is about to enter the thick of its conference schedule. Scattered non-conference games remain in the midweek, but as the Owls enter the middle portions of their season, every game will start to count a little bit more. Nonconference games aren’t finished, but a new portion of the Owls’ schedule is getting ready to start.

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Following a series sweep of Houston Christian, Rice baseball head coach Jose Cruz Jr. says the staff is “excited for the direction that we’re headed.” In this midseason State of the Program, we’ll look at the highs, lows and everything in between as we explore where Rice baseball is now and where it might be in the weeks ahead.

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