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Rice Basketball outplays North Texas in “program win”

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Rice basketball overcame a slow start, surging past North Texas to secure one of the more impactful wins of head coach Scott Pera’s tenure.

Rice basketball had defeated North Texas once in their last 11 meetings entering Thursday Night’s matchup at the Super Pit, losing by an average of 25 points per game over the past four contests. The Mean Green just simply had the Owls’ number and that appeared to be the case again early on with the home team roaring out to a 13-2 lead.

Down early, Rice swerved from their usual three-point heavy approach and took the ball inside, exploiting mismatches they had on the drive with their superior guard play from Quincy Olivari and Travis Evee.

Sure enough, that double-digit lead dwindled until Rice erased it entirely with a 9-0 run punctuated by another big drive and score from Olivari to take a 21-20 lead, the Owls’ only edge in the first half.

North Texas wasn’t particularly effective in close range, maintaining their advantage early in the second half primarily with three-pointers — they hit 10 of 27 threes — rather than attacking inside. But when those threes stopped, Rice took over.

The Mean Green hit their final three of the game with 11:29 remaining in the second half, putting them up by five points, 47-42. From that point onward, Rice outscored North Texas 30-13, including a devastating 11-0 run over a four-minute span to put the game away for good and secure head coach Scott Pera’s first career win at North Texas.

Spotlight | Pera’s plan

Rice basketball had two improbable firsts in its win over North Texas. First, Pera’s game plan was entirely bespoke. The Owls entered the game averaging 25.4 three-point attempts per game. They attempted just seven such shots on Thursday night, the fewest three-point attempts by a Pera-coached Rice squad, ever.

Equally surprising for a team that has traditionally relied on the long ball, the low number of deep shots led to a meager three successful three-point baskets. That’s the fewest three-pointers made in a Rice victory under Pera, ever.

For Pera to flip the script 180 degrees took guts. And it worked. A double-digit underdog in the betting markets, Pera’s squad left Denton with what is arguably the most impressive win of his tenure, a win Pera described as a true “program win.”

Final Box | Rice 72 – North Texas 60

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball returns home for a two-game set at Tudor Fieldhouse this weekend. They’ll host Charlotte on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7:00 p.m. CT then play UAB at 2:00 p.m. to close out the homestand.

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Rice Women’s Basketball holds on, beats North Texas for third straight win

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Rice women’s basketball never trailed at home against North Texas, but still found themselves in a dogfight to the very end, holding on for the win.

Stifling defense was the theme early on in a Thursday night tilt between Rice women’s basketball and the North Texas Mean Green. The Owls held the visitors to one field goal before the opening media timeout and just 11 points in the first quarter. After struggling to get that aspect of their game going in recent weeks, they leaned on that end of the court heavily as their own shooting took some time to get in gear.

The shots started to fall in earnest in the second quarter. Rice shot 63.6 percent from the floor in the period and extended their lead to 13 points at the break.

While Rice controlled the game throughout the second half, the margins got too close for comfort on a few occasions. The Owls had themselves to blame for much of it, turning the ball over and wasting possessions. The rhythm they seemed to have on that side of the court in the first half seemed to take a lull in the third quarter allowing North Texas tied the game, but they were never able to take the lead.

After holding North Texas to 25 points combined in the first and second quarters, the Mean Green took over with 49 second points. Rice answered with a balanced attack, punctuated by a trio of three pointers from Dominque Ennis off the bench. The lead never again reached double digits, but the Owls were finally able to get some breathing room late and hold on for their third consecutive victory.

Spotlight | India Bellamy

Head coach Lindsay Edmonds is quick to compliment the depth of the roster this season whenever given the chance. Her memories of a thin bench in her inagular season are completely foreign to the myriad of options this team has at its disposal.

“If we have four or five in double digits, I feel really good about our chances,” she said tonight, following a game in which five Owls reached double digits. Many were the usual suspects: Ashlee Austin, Malia Fisher. One was India Bellamy, who delivered 12 points and two critical steals. Only Austin made more field goals (seven) than Bellamy (six).

“India coming off the bench that’s also scoring the ball really well,” Edmonds said. “Everybody stepping up at different times is what makes us so good.” That certainly was the right recipe on Thursday night.

Final Box | Rice 81 – North Texas 74

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball hits the road for a quick two-game trip to the east, starting with a Thursday evening game against Charlotte on Jan. 26 at 5:00 p.m. CT. They’ll stop at Birmingham on the way back to Texas on Saturday to play UAB. That’s a 1:00 p.m. CT tip.

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Max Fiedler triple-double lifts Rice Basketball past UTSA

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Rice basketball fell behind big, but rallied late with Max Fiedler’s triple-double outing powering the Owls past UTSA on the road.

Following a stretch of games in which Rice basketball had built early leads and tried to hold on, the Owls found themselves in the exact opposite scenario on Monday night at UTSA. The Owls went ice cold from the three-point line while UTSA began the night on a heater. Rice began the night 2-of-12 from long range. UTSA started with makes on 8-of-14 triples. And just like that, an 18-point UTSA lead materialized.

Somehow, Rice thundered back. With 4:02 to play, the Owls trailed by 10. With 1:45 to go, they trailed by six. Finally, with 1.1 on the clock and the Owls nursing a miraculous one-point lead, Rice sent UTSA’s Japhet Medor to the line to shoot two. He made one and overtime commenced.

Cameron Sheffield and Mekhi Mason put Rice in front by five, then Travis Evee and Quincy Olivari followed with a combination of threes and free throws to build a nine-point advantage. They’d win by that margin, capping off one of the more improbable comebacks in the conference this season.

Final Box | Rice 88 – UTSA 79 (OT)

Key takeaway | Triple-Double Max

Max Fiedler has been praised for his ability as a facilitator for years. The veteran big man is one of the best in the game when it comes to getting the ball to his teammates, but cracking the double-digit mark in assists on Monday (11) set up an even more impressive feat. With 13 rebounds and 24 points, Fiedler became the second player in program history to record a triple-double.

The assists came in overtime, part of an incredible performance that sparked the thrilling come-from-behind victory. It’s not uncommon for Fiedler’s contributions on the court to go well beyond what shows up in the box score. Against UTSA, that box score reflected his significance loud and clear.

Up Next: at North Texas – Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7:00 p.m.

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Rice Women’s Basketball rallies to beat UTSA

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Rice women’s basketball fought through some early shooting woes and exploded from the three-point line to beat UTSA.

Rice women’s basketball was clearly looking for an early three-point bonanza against UTSA but the expected fireworks fizzled early on. The Owls shot a miserable 1-for-12 on three-pointers in the first quarter alone, accounting for nearly seventy percent of their average of 18.6 three-point attempts for the game in the first 10 minutes as they fell behind 20-12.

Despite falling behind, Rice did not abandon the game plan. They took 10 more three-pointers in the second quarter, this time hitting four of them, and rallied to retake the lead in the final minute before halftime.  After trailing by as many as 11, the Owls were right back in the mix at the break.

Both teams traded blows in the third before Rice appeared to have opened up a commanding fourth quarter lead, going up 11 points on a three by Katelyn Crosthwait with 3:19 to play. UTSA would claw back to within two points in the final 30 seconds, but Rice did enough to hang on for the win.

Final Box | Rice 78 – UTSA 76

Key takeaway |  Three-point throwdown

Head coach Lindsay Edmonds and her staff had noticed UTSA play more zone in a recent game and was ready to act on it should the Roadrunners do something similar against the Owls on Monday. They did, and the Owls took to the air.

Even with some early misses, Edmonds stayed the course, despite turning to the scorer’s table at one point to check how many threes they had taken to that point — 14 — “Oh my goodness,” was her only reply.

“A lot of our threes were coming from three of our best three-point shooters,” she said afterward. “Those are what those players do, So I have no problems with them taking good shots.”

Edmonds did admit the quality of shot improved as the team entered the heart of the second quarter, moving the ball more effectively and playing inside out. That set up leading scorer Katelyn Crosthwait for a massive evening. She connected on 7-of-14 threes, scoring a team-high 23 points.

“Threes are my thing. That’s what I rep every single off day,” Crosthwait said win a grin.

Up Next: vs North Texas – Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7:00 p.m.

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Rice Basketball Roundup: MBB and WBB vs UTEP

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Both Rice basketball teams were in action against UTEP on Saturday. Here’s a brief rundown of how the men and women faired and what’s next for both.

Rice Basketball

Rice basketball fended off an early UTEP run then made a thriller at the buzzer to notch their first conference home win of the season.

After failing to hold sizable leads in previous games, Rice basketball was handed a very different game script on Saturday against UTEP. The game began with a modest back and forth before a 13-3 UTEP run late in the first half put Rice into a perilous position. Quincy Olivari quickly keyed an 11-2 Rice spurt to return the game back to near level in the waning minutes of the first half.

Already survivors of an early scare, Rice entered the second half motivated. Olivari and Travis Evee strung together a trio of three-pointers and a few more buckets, a 13-0 run, which put Rice back in front for the first time since the 11:25 mark in the first half.

It wouldn’t be easy, though. UTEP took the lead on a free throw with six seconds to play. Then Evee took the ball down the court and put one up at the buzzer, watching it fall through the net for the game-winner.

Final Box | Rice 83 – UTEP 82

Key takeaway | In the hunt

Entering Saturday, eight of the 11 teams in Conference USA were within one game of .500 in league play, with most hovering somewhere between 2-3 and 3-3. If Rice basketball had hopes of contending for an upper-half finish in the conference they needed to avoid falling too far in the race early on in the season. They did that this weekend, earning an important win to move back to .500 in league play.

The Owls were one of only two teams in the conference without a home win in league play prior to this important victory. Head coach Scott Pera is quick to preach the significance of taking care of home court, and they achieved that today.

Up Next: at UTSA – Monday, Jan. 16 at 7:00 p.m.

Rice Women's Basketball

Rice women’s basketball was able to build a lead and maintain it, taking down UTEP on the road for their second conference win.

On New Year’s Eve, Rice women’s basketball beat UTEP to stop a losing skid. On Saturday, they did it again, taking down the Miners for the second time this season. The game was tight early, with the Owls holding small leads in the first and second quarters with both teams shooting well early on. Things began to shift in the third quarter when the Rice defensive effort was cranked up to another level.

UTEP was held to 7.1 percent shooting in the third frame, making just one shot from the field. That stingy defense, combined with a 50 percent shooting mark of their own from the floor, helped Rice open up an 18-point advantage which proved too big for the Miners to climb out of, even with a stronger fourth quarter.

“I felt we imposed our will for 40 minutes. We really executed the defensive gameplan and we then we had a really balanced attack on the offensive end,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said. ” You saw a lot of effort and energy, but most importantly, I just liked our focus.”

Final Box | Rice 73 – UTEP 62

Key takeaway | Confidence builder

With the loss, UTEP falls to 4-2 in conference play, undefeated in games against all other foes except for the Rice Owls. The win was important, if for no other reason that to soothe any anxieties associated with a prolonged losing streak. But more than that, it was a win against a very good conference foe.

UTEP is second in the conference standings right now and Rice has already beaten the Miners twice. Middle Tennessee (6-0) is playing exceptional basketball right now, but everyone else in the conference is on the Owls’ level — as things currently stand — and we’ve seen this team hang with great teams over the past year and a half.

Every team has tough stretches of its season for one reason or another. Notching a second win against this team proves that this Rice women’s basketball squad can be a real force if they’re clicking at the right time.

Up Next: vs UTSA – Monday, Jan. 16 at 7:00 p.m.

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