The source for Rice sports news

UPSET! Rice Basketball stuns Memphis

By

Rice basketball stunned Memphis, leading the home favorites for the majority of the game to notch one of the biggest wins of Scott Pera’s tenure.

If Rice basketball was meant to be intimidated as heavy underdogs at the FedEx Forum against Memphis, they didn’t show it. The visiting Owls, losers of six of seven AAC contests, held Memphis to 22 points in the first half, outshooting the Tigers on their home court as they built a double-digit lead in the opening frame.

It was sharp shooting from Keanu Dawes and Alem Huseinovic that helped the Owls build their early lead. Anthony Selden delivered the closing run of the half, pushing the Rice lead to 11, their largest of the night so far. From that point, the play-by-play reverted to a familiar storyline. Rice had a big lead, could they hold on?

Rice basketball has squandered its fair share of double-digit leads this season. On Wednesday night, whether it was favor finally finding the feathered fighters or a true moment of resolve, one might never know, but Rice found a way to hold the line.

Memphis took the lead back with four minutes remaining, erasing the longstanding Rice advantage. Rather than fluster, Rice fired back. Travis Evee connected on back-to-back threes. The first tied the game. The second put Rice in front with less than a minute to play. Dawes would make four crucial free throws after that. Evee added one more from the stripe. Then it was over.

A last-second heave from Memphis clanked off the rim and hit the court. Before it collided with the hardwood, the Rice bench had already begun celebrating one of, if not the biggest win of Scott Pera’s tenure.

“It took 40 minutes of a team effort from top to bottom. Guys that played a lot of the game, guys that didn’t play it all. Everyone was engaged,” Evee said. “We played for each other and that’s why we won.”

Final Box | Rice 74 – Memphis 71

Key takeaway | Best Ball

Evee said it best in his closing comments after the landmark win: “When we’re playing our best ball, we can compete with anyone.” That’s been the thesis this team has been clinging to for months now. Since the season began, this team believed they had a team that was good enough to challenge the best the American Conference had to offer. On Wednesday night, they were finally rewarded.

“Our kids have overcome a lot. They’ve dealt with a lot. Tonight was just a heck of a win from a group of kids that have just been staying with it,” head coach Scott Pera said afterward. “The preparation has been good. The practice has been good. The approach and the attitude has been good. And it’s all that you can ask as a coach. You want to see them get some wins because you know that we can win.”

Memphis was the No. 10 team in the country a few weeks ago. Even when accounting for their recent losing skid — now exacerbated by the Owls — this is a very good basketball team. And Rice beat them, arguably making the game a lot closer than it should have been with the missed free throws down the stretch.

The question now will be whether or not this team can replicate that kind of 40-minute effort. If they can, they’ll have a shot to climb out of the sizable hole they dug for themselves over the last several weeks. Everyone in that locker room believes this game can be that turning point. Hopefully, they’re right.

Up Next: at UTSA (Saturday, Feb. 3)

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Furious comeback falls short as Rice basketball loses to Tulsa

By

A furious last-minute rally fell just short as Rice basketball dropped a crucial home tilt to Tulsa, 85-83.

Leads were fleeting for Rice basketball on Saturday night against Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane scored twice to open the game with a 5-0 lead before a 7-0 Rice run put the Owls in front. That would prove to be the only lead for the home team through the remainder of the contest, which would ebb and flow and remain competitive up until the final buzzer.

No sooner had Rice claimed their meager lead did Tulsa rattle off an 11-0 run. Alem Huseinovic would fire back with a pair of threes and then shortly after an 8-0 Tulsa run put Rice down 12 points on their home court.

Rice was able to engineer a few spurts of success to cut their deficit. Max Fiedler orchestrated a good portion of those pushes, finishing three assists shy of a triple-double (14 points, 10 boards, 7 assists). Travis Evee scored all 15 of his points in the second half. Mekhi Mason led the way with 19 points.

Down by eight with 27 seconds, Rice nearly completed a miracle comeback, missing a tip shot at the buzzer that would have forced overtime. With the loss, Rice falls to 1-6 in league play, allowing Tulsa to pick up its first road win in two years, snapping a streak of 18 consecutive road losses.

Final Box | Tulsa 85 – Rice 83

Key takeaway | Reenergizing Evee

Not far removed from a scoreless 0-for-12 outing against FAU on Wednesday, Evee spent most of the first half of this game riding the bench, sidelined by early foul trouble after missing his lone shot attempt before the halftime buzzer.

In total, he would go more than 43 minutes of time on the court without a made field goal, dating back to a layup against Temple. That streak was mercifully ended with a second half three, part of an eventual 15-point outburst that nearly included a game winning three, had it not been blocked.

Rice played FAU and Tulsa close with little contribution from their best scorer. Rice doesn’t get anywhere close to their furious comeback without Evee, who scored five of the Owls’ 13 points in the final minute. If Rice is going to have any shot of getting things going down the stretch, they need Evee at his best. Hopefully the second half a sign he’s heating up once again.

Up Next: at Memphis (Wednesday, Jan. 31)

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Injuries and foul trouble sink Rice Women’s Basketball vs Memphis

By

It was a rough afternoon for Rice women’s basketball, which battled through injuries and foul trouble in a loss to Memphis at home.

Points were at a premium on Saturday afternoon. Fouls were plentiful. The result was a grimy game for a shorthanded Rice women’s basketball team, playing without Malia Fisher, against a Memphis team that entered the game with one road win on the season so far. Further complicating matters, Shelby Hayes wasn’t available either.

Rice was able to nurse a small lead through most of the first quarter before Memphis jumped in front to start the second period. The visitors slowly added to their advantage, reaching a 15-point lead after three quarters thanks to a flurry of foul calls against Rice, with a technical foul against head coach Lindsay Edmonds providing the frustrating exclamation point.

After three quarters, Rice had been charged with 20 fouls. Memphis had been called for just nine. The final foul margin was 29 to 19. Dominque Ennis missed about half of the fourth quarter after a collision, adding to a slue of misfortune for the Owls.

There were some good moments — including a career-best 15 points from Hailey Adams — but ultimately a mediocre shooting performance, injuries and foul trouble proved too much to overcome. Had the Owls gotten one or two more fortunate bounces, they might have been able to steal this one, instead, Rice fell at home to Memphis on a frustrating afternoon of basketball.

Final Box | Memphis 73 – Rice 66

Key takeaway | Gone Fish(er)ing?

For the second time in as many games, Rice women’s basketball was without the services of Malia Fisher. An integral piece on both sides of the court, it was evident in both games the Owls’ rhythm was off. Not having her presence on the interior impacts how this team wants to play basketball. They got some big contributions from Hailey Adams and others but were unable to reliably make the most out of every possession.

The effort is certainly there, but the efficiency hasn’t been the same. Rice shot just 37.7 percent from the floor on Saturday, converting just 3-of-13 from three. It’ll be interesting to see if this team can reorient themselves while Fisher is sidelined. For the time being, it’s been anything but smooth sailing.

Up Next: vs SMU (Wednesday, Jan. 31)

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Basketball drops defensive slugfest to FAU

By

Rice basketball was able to hold FAU well under its seasonal scoring average, but couldn’t make their shots when it mattered most, falling to the Owls at home.

In much the same way Alem Huseinovic’s insertion into the everyday starting lineup for Rice basketball has come as a pleasant surprise for the Owls’ on-court production, so too was seeing him hit the opening layup to put Rice ahead of No. 22 FAU and then continue to ensure this clash of Owls was much closer than anyone else might have anticipated.

Rice kept FAU within striking distance throughout a contest most oddsmakers tabbed to be decidedly one-sided, mixing in a stout defensive effort with timely threes from some of the more unlikely candidates. Travie Evee didn’t make a shot from deep. Sam Alajiki had a pair of triples in the first half alone.

Even if the formula was unusual, it worked to a great degree, allowing Rice to keep pace with FAU throughout. That didn’t look like it was going to happen near the midpoint of the second quarter, but with FAU leading by a game-high 14 points, Huseinovic, Anthony Selden and Mehki Mason provided a burst that pushed the margin back down to single digits.

Free throws would play a pivotal role in the finale. FAU made its final 12 shots from the charity stripe, including a perfect 8-0 in the final three minutes. Rice missed its last four, effectively ending any last-chance attempts at a comeback.

Final Box | FAU 69 – Rice 56

Key takeaway | Functional defense

Wednesday’s defensive performance was more in line with the one Rice basketball fans were envisioning to start the season. It wasn’t a lockdown, stellar night of defensive execution, but it was an aggressive brand of basketball that forced FAU to make some mistakes and settle for less-than-ideal shots. As a result, Rice held FAU to 15 points under their season average. Three days ago they dropped 112 on UTSA in overtime.

If we’re nitpicking the defense, FAU shot a little below their season average but held a significant margin on the boards. Even still, it was a five-point game in the closing minutes thanks in large part to the defense. The offense and the free throw shooting certainly weren’t doing the team any favors.

No, it was a sub-50 percent free throw shooting performance and an off night from Travis Evee and Keanu Dawes (who combined to go 0-14 from the field) that was more to blame for the Owls’ coming up short than the defense. Strange times, indeed.

Up Next: vs Tulsa (Saturday, Jan. 27)

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball falls short on the road vs Tulsa

By

Rice women’s basketball started slow but rallied late, taking Tulsa down to the wire before suffering their first road loss in AAC play.

Things couldn’t have gotten off to much of a worse start for Rice women’s basketball on Wednesday night against Tulsa. Just days removed from climbing to the top spot in the AAC standings, the visiting Owls found themselves in an early 18-3 hole. Malisa Fisher did not play in this game, throwing a wrench into a rhythm that had gotten Rice off to a 5-1 start in league play.

Rice shot 26 percent in the first half, failing to close the gap by any meaningful amount. They would need quite an adjustment at halftime to make a game out of a contest that had been quite one-sided to that point.

The third quarter brought with it a spark. Emily Klaczek provided the first, adding to a strong start with a team-high two steals, two rebounds and seven points in that frame, alone. That helped Rice narrow the deficit to six points, getting the game within reach for one last push in the fourth quarter.

Rally they did, blasting out of the gates in the final quarter on a 9-2 run, narrowing the gap to a single score. After trailing by as many as 19, the combination of Dominque Ennis and Destiny Jackson carved up the Tulsa defense. They played off each other so well, propelling the Owls to a tied game with less than a minute to go. An untimely deflection would thwart the Owls’ chances, giving Tulsa one extra possession late as they secured the lead for good.

Final Box | Tulsa 70 – Rice 65

Key takeaway | On a bad night

On the road without one of their key players in a massive early deficit, Rice women’s basketball was one bad bounce from a game-tying shot in the closing minutes. This trip to Tulsa checked a lot of the boxes head coach Lindsay Edmonds might have laid out when asked for a potential worst-case scenario, and still, this team was right there in the thick of it.

There are no moral victories and this team has come far enough that they’re not going to treat this game as such. But we’ve now seen two conference losses for this squad and both required unusual circumstances for this program to lose in league play. Maybe Rice isn’t head and shoulders above everyone else just yet, that’s evident after nights like this. But the range of outcomes for this team is starting to fully materialize.

On bad nights, this team is still good enough to challenge you to the very end and perhaps even beat you without playing their best brand of basketball. On good nights…. good luck.

Up Next: vs Memphis (Saturday, Jan. 27)

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts