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Rice Baseball 2022: Owls top HBU for first win of Cruz Jr. era

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Rice baseball picked up the first win of the Jose Cruz Jr. era, beating Houston Baptist and former Rice great Lance Berkman.

Opening weekend wasn’t the grand entrance many Rice baseball fans had been hoping for with new head coach Jose Cruz Jr. in the dugout. The Owls were swept, gave up 36 runs and only scored three of their own. Reasons for optimism were in dire need. They found several in a midweek win over Houston Baptist.

Although the narrative surrounding the game centered on a battle of coaches — Cruz and Houston Baptist headman Lance Berkman were once roommates at Rice — the game itself was vigorous. Rice jumped out in front when two runs scored on an HBU error in the first inning.

Rice added to their advantage the following inning on a sac fly by Austin Bulman and once more on a fourth-inning RBI double by Antonio Cruz. Leading 4-0, Rice pitcher Parker Smith had all the breathing room he needed.

Last Time Out : Takeaways from Rice Baseball swept by Texas, 3-0

“I was just trying to throw strikes,” Smith said once he’d wrapped up six innings of scoreless baseball, striking out four without issuing any walks. Other than a hit batsman, the pitching performance was almost a full 180-degree turn from how the Owls fared last weekend.

Things were quiet on the scoreboard until Smith left the game. Following two runs from the Owls in the top half of the seventh, the Huskies would muster their first run in the bottom of the frame. They’d get one more in the eighth before falling to the Owls by a final score of 6-2.

What it means

The talent differential between Rice baseball and Houston Baptist is supposed to be fairly sizable. Rice should win this game more often than they don’t, but learning how to win is something that holds material weight in the baseball world of superstitions and processes. Rice got the monkey off their back before it turned into a gorilla. 1-3 isn’t great, but it’s a lot better than 0-4.

“I’m so excited we finally won a game,” Cruz Jr. said in relief. “The boys have been hungry for it, they’ve been working hard. So I’m happy to get that out of the way.”

ON DECK | Lamar

Rice baseball kicks off a 17-game homestand on Friday, beginning with a three-game series against Lamar. That set is part of a 34-game home schedule, the most regular-season games every play at Reckling Park following it’s opening in 2000.

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Rice Basketball: Owls’ late rally comes up short at FIU

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Rice Basketball rallied late, but came up just short on the road against FIU, dropping their third straight Conference USA game.

Cameron Sheffield entered the starting lineup and quickly got things started for Rice basketball against FIU on Saturday. His three-pointer opened the scoring, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Owls from falling behind quickly on the road.

A swift 9-0 run put the Panthers in front by six. That advantage would strengthen to 10 points around the midpoint of the first half and reach as many as 17 points before Rice was able to begin to chip away early in the second half.

Last Time Out: Rice Basketball knocked out by UAB on the road

The Owls’ second half surge was sparked by Travis Evee and Carl Pierre, both of which contributed multiple three-pointers to trim the large gap to a 61-61 ballgame with just under eight minutes to play. Trailing by three points in the final minute, Rice turned to fouls but was unable to get the margin closer than two points even with a last-second three from Chris Mullins as the clock expired.

The loss is the Owls’ third consecutive conference loss since they lost guard Quincy Olivari to injury. It ties their longest losing streak of the season, a three-game drought from Nov. 23 to Nov. 30 including losses to Oakland, Fordham and Texas State.

Player Spotlight | Travis Evee

Evee bounced back from a slower-shooting night from three on Thursday, splashing six triples on 14 attempts, including several in the second half to spark the initial Rice rally. He and Carl Pierre (3-for-8 from three) are going to have to be the sparkplugs in this offense and both contributed meaningful buckets to the cause against FIU.

Stat Corner | Out-glassed

Rebounding was a crucial differentiator in this game. Not only did FIU outrebound Rice 42-28, the Panthers had 12 offensive rebounds to the Owls six. That led to more opportunities and more second-chance points. Shedding size in favor of shooting comes with a risk. Rice found themselves on the wrong side of that margin on Saturday.

Final Box | FIU 80 – Rice 78

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball will have a few days to regroup. They host Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Feb. 24 and Southern Miss on Saturday, Feb. 26 in their final homestand before finishing the regular season on the road prior to the start of the conference tournament in March.

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Lights out free-throw performance lifts Rice Women’s Basketball past FIU

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Rice Women’s Basketball was lights out down the stretch, closing out their home tilt with FIU to secure their first 2-0 weekend in league play.

The first points of the afternoon went to FIU, but Rice women’s basketball followed up a pair of their opponents’ free throws with a 14-5 run, starting strong in their effort to secure their first 2-0 weekend in conference play this season.

The Owls the Panthers to 12.5 percent shooting in the first quarter but it wouldn’t come that easy. FIU punched back in the second frame, outscoring Rice 21-11. Rice led by as many as five points in the final two minutes before FIU closed the quarter on an 8-0 run including a three-point heave at the buzzer to break a 25-25 tie.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball edges UAB at home

The three-point shot would continue to play an important role in the game moving forward. Both teams hit from long range on two of their first three baskets of the second half as the Owls worked to whittle down a Panthers’ lead that reached six points early in the third quarter.

The game would stay within reach for both sides until the midpoint of the fourth quarter when Rice slammed the door. A 9-0 Rice run — with seven of the nine points coming from the free-throw line — put the game out of reach. The Owls did not make a field goal in the final 3:37 but were still able to maintain a comfortable margin as they closed things out.

Player Spotlight | Malia Fisher

Fisher was tremendous in the Owls’ defensive efforts down the stretch, securing 18 rebounds, the most in a game by any Conference USA player this season. She made 11-of-13 free throws, scoring 17 points. She also tied for the team lead in assists (four) and had the Owls’ only block of the game. A true freshman, Fisher’s ascent is only just beginning.

Stat Corner | Free throws = Free points

The free-throw line was where Rice women’s basketball won this game. Rice hit 31-of-36 attempts from the charity stripe, building their fourth quarter lead on foul shots and maintaining the differential with near-perfect accuracy from the line. The Owls made 20-of-22 free throws in the fourth quarter alone.

Final Box | Rice 73 – FIU 67

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball will have a quick turnaround. The Owls start a three-game road trip on Monday when they travel to Birmingham to play UAB for the second time in five days. From there, they’ll finish out the trip the following weekend with games at Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Feb. 24 and Southern Miss on Saturday, Feb. 26.

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Rice Basketball blown out on the road by red-hot UAB Blazers

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Rice Basketball never got things going against UAB on the road and paid for their slow start with a blowout loss to the Blazers.

Rice basketball was flying high the last time they met UAB on the court. On that night the Owls dispatched the Blazers, notching one of the most preeminent victories of Scott Pera’s tenure. This Thursday, UAB got its revenge. Rice missed its first six shots from the field and fell behind by as many as 18 points in the first quarter. Rice played more than 15 minutes of the first half trailing by double-digits.

The insertion of Terrance McBride into the starting lineup could not mask the void left by guard Quincy Olivar, who was lost for the season following a wrist injury suffered two weekends ago against UTEP. McBride scored six points and had four rebounds and five assists, but was otherwise just as quiet as the remainder of the Rice offense which didn’t really wake up until a string of threes from Carl Pierre in the latter portions of the first half.

Last Time Out: Rice Basketball forced to adjust with Olivari done for season

After trailing by as many as 18, Pierre’s threes helped Rice begin to chip away. They were able to get the deficit to 11 before a UAB dunk and subsequent free throw pushed the halftime differential to 14 points in favor of the home team.

Rice would offer feeble resistance in the second half, keep the margin in the teens for a few minutes before UAB pulled even further away. The Blazers would lead by as many as 30, winning by 24 at the final buzzer.

Player Spotlight | Cam Sheffield

Occasionally overlooked by the higher volume shooters, Cam Sheffield has served as the Owls’ sixth man dating back to last season. He’s a reliable shooter and a stout defender. He was as effective on both sides of the court as any other Rice player was on Thursday, knocking down both of his three-point attempts and tying for the team lead with four rebounds despite playing only 22 minutes. Sheffield doesn’t always light up the box score, but he makes his minutes count.

Stat Corner | One

Part of what made the Rice basketball offensive so scary, on paper, was the myriad of ways they could score, particularly from distance. Rice has an arsenal of players that can shoot the three extremely well, at least, that’s usually the case. It wasn’t on Thursday. Rice had one player make at least one three-point shot in the first half. One. By the time the Owls had more help from deep in the second half it was too little, too late.

Defensive breakdowns played just as big of a role in the one-sided affair as the shooting woes, but if the Owls don’t have multiple threats from deep, their offense is going to sputter. Travis Evee can shoot with the best of them, but Rice might need someone else to step up as well with Quincy Olivari sidelined.

Final Box | UAB 92 – Rice 68

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball will conclude this brief road trip on Saturday at FIU in Miami. From there they’ll return home where they’ll host Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Feb. 24 and Southern Miss on Saturday, Feb. 26.

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Rice Women’s Basketball holds on, edges UAB at home

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Rice Women’s Basketball was forced to battle for a full 40 minutes, but the Owls left Tudor Fieldhouse with a hard-fought win over UAB.

Following an 0-5 start to conference play, Rice women’s basketball had just started to settle into a rhythm, earning at least a split of games over two consecutive weekends before falling to North Texas twice in four days. Seeking to get back on the right foot, the Owls opened their current homestand with a hard-fought victory over the UAB Blazers.

Rice scored first and shot well from the field early, but UAB had an answer for seemingly every basket the Owls sunk. A 12-3 Rice run in the first quarter expanded their lead to as many as six, but they’d end the first quarter with only a two-point lead despite shooting 50 percent from the floor.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball drops two-game set against UNT

UAB would push ahead early in the second quarter, but the margin never grew beyond four points in favor of either side. The Blazers spread their points around. The Owls saw contributions from a group of shooters as well, but it was the sharp shooting of Maya Bokunewicz that made the difference. Her step-back three gave Rice a 40-39 lead at halftime, proving an exclamation point for her 17-point first-half performance.

Rice was able to extend that lead in the third quarter, stretching it to eight points on a step-back jumper from Ashlee Austin which put Rice up 55-47. It was at that point the Owls seemed to have established themselves in the driver’s seat only to watch UAB storm back and tie the game back up at 65 midway through the fourth quarter.

“A lot of our games are going to come down to wire,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said in the aftermath. “We have to be better in those moments, myself included.”

Said with the memory of fourth quarters that didn’t go the Owls’ way, Edmonds and company settled down and locked in. The game would come down to fouls and free throws in the final seconds. In need of one last surge, the Owls got it done with two free throws from Bokunewicz to ice the win.

Player Spotlight | Maya Bokunewicz

Bokunewicz redshirted last season before becoming a fixture in the Rice women’s basketball starting lineup in her second campaign on South Main. Before Thursday, her career-best game had come on the road against Middle Tennessee on January 7 when she scored a career0high 20 points and added five rebounds. She entered the starting lineup the following game and has been there ever since.

She scored 17 points in the first half against UAB, finishing with 19 points and eight rebounds. She credited the big game with more confidence in her shot, saying she’s “definitely slowed down and just kind of gotten into a rhythm with the game.”

Stat Corner | 58%

When asked about Bocunewicz’s scoring outburst, Edmonds mentioned a conversation she’d had with the redshirt freshmen in the preseason in which Bocunewicz had admitted to being reluctant to shoot three-pointers. Edmonds told the young guard to get comfortable. “I love the three,” Edmonds said recalling that conversation.

On Thursday. Bocunewicz was 3-of-5 from three and the Owls connected on 58 percent of their shots from deep. Those early three kept Rice in the game. The late triples helped them put it away.

Final Box | Rice 81 – UAB 76

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball won’t have much of a reprieve before they meet UAB on the court once again. The Owls host FIU on Saturday but make the trip to Birmingham to play the Blazers on Monday, Feb. 21. They will finish that road trip the following weekend with games at Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Feb. 24 and Southern Miss on Saturday, Feb. 26.

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