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Rice basketball drops OT finish at Tulsa

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A back-and-forth battle ended with a lopsided overtime result as Rice basketball ran out of gas in extra minutes at Tulsa.

Not too far removed from a thriller that went down to the wire, Rice basketball and Tulsa produced another back-and-forth slugfest the second time around. Alem Huseinovic and Max Fiedler provided the offensive spark to get the Owls going early, but Tulsa seemed to have an answer for every Rice run.

Neither side led by more than six points in the first quarter and they were tied at the halftime buzzer. That theme continued after the break, this time with Travis Evee catching fire. He scored 16 of his team-high 21 points in the second half, but it was only enough to force extra basketball, not earn a victory.

Those final five minutes belonged solely to the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa opened the scoring in overtime with a 7-0 run. At that point, the result seemed all but decided. The loss was the Owls’ third straight defeat overall and snapped a three-game winning streak on the road in conference play.

Final Box | Tulsa 93 – Rice 82 (OT)

Key takeaway | Can’t teach clutch

Aside from the final score, there was a lot to like from the box score for Rice basketball on Saturday. They shot the ball reasonably well, got big games from Travis Evee and Max Fiedler and led Tulsa in rebounds and points in the paint. But games aren’t decided by box scores or by aggregate measures. They’re decided in key moments, in overtime sequences, with everything on the line.

The painful reality for this team right now is this: when the lights have shined the brightest, they haven’t risen to the challenge. That was the case on Saturday against Tulsa. In a winnable game that went to overtime, Rice wilted in extra minutes. Tulsa outscored Rice 14-3 in overtime.

Flip the results of a handful of clutch moments and this Rice team looks respectable against some potent AAC opponents. But that’s not how this works. The clutch gene has avoided the Owls and their record is a reflection of that. There are no points rewarded for almost.

Up Next: at UAB (Wednesday, Feb. 21)

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Rice Basketball falters late, falling to USF at home

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The roller coaster ride of this Rice Basketball continued on Saturday as the Owls climbed to a big lead before falling to South Florida at home.

Roller coasters and the current Rice basketball season have more in common than one might care to admit. Fresh off a blowout loss against SMU, Rice went found itself leading top-seeded South Florida by 13 at halftime. Travis Evee was in the zone. Max Fiedler was controlling the paint. Keanu Dawes delivered a myriad of clutch moments, coming off the bench for the first time this season.

But, as head coach Scott Pera would be the first to say, it’s a 40-minute game. And that roller coaster? For every up, it has a down. The drop coincided with the second half whistle. USF hit five of their first six threes after the break, erasing the Rice advantage and taking their first lead just minutes in the second frame.

USF’s 23-5 second half run quickly erased the Rice lead and turned the game into a dogfight down the stretch. Rice would tie it up at 65-65 with 2:36 remaining in the second half. USF hit one more three to go back in front. Rice was out of baskets. Despite leading for the entirety of the first half and never trailing by more than two possession, Rice fell, again.

“We need to find consistency. Our players have been a roller coaster in their individual performances and our team has been a rollercoaster because of it,” head coach Scott Pera said. “We cannot find a consistent performance across the board from all our guys. That’s been the story.”

Final Box | USF 69 – Rice 65

Key takeaway | Good, but not good enough

A visibly frustrated Scott Pera sat down for his postgame press conference following his Rice basketball’s drubbing at the hands of SMU. He said all the right things and made promises to do everything he could to get his team prepared for their upcoming game against league-leading South Florida.

And while Pera took full responsibility for that defeat, he made it clear this team wasn’t going anywhere if its leaders, specifically Max Fiedler and Travis Evee, didn’t play better. “We’re not winning in this league if Max and Travis aren’t playing well,” he declared.

For the most part, the Owls’ stars led the way. Fiedler scored three of the Owls’ first four field goals from the floor. Evee followed immediately afterward, scoring seven straight points on his own to give Rice a 10-point lead over the AAC’s top team.

Fiedler finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Evee scored a team-high 20 points. Statistically, it was night and day better from the SMU outing just days ago. But unfortunately for the Owls, the result didn’t change. It was a closer loss, but a loss all the same.

“We knew we had to play better. It didn’t really take anyone to tell us that,” Evee said. “I still don’t think we played our best ball today. We have to find a way to keep playing better.”

Up Next: at Tulsa (Saturday, Feb. 17)

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Alem Huseinovic’s huge night not enough as Rice Basketball falls to SMU

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Alem Huseinovic’s huge night was not enough to keep pace with a furious SMU attack as Rice basketball remains winless at home in AAC play.

SMU started the scoring at Tudor Fieldhouse and did not stop, shooting better than 50 percent in the first half against Rice basketball. With defense unable to keep the Mustangs at bay, the Owls turned to Alem Huseinvoic, who delivered a monster night including a series of big threes to keep pace with the visitors for as long as possible.

Huseinvoic helped push Rice to a nine-point advantage in the final minutes before halftime and scored the only Rice basket in the next eight minutes of court time spanning the final four 3:48 of the first half and the first 4:17 to the second frame. In between SMU outscored Rice by a staggering 29-4 margin.

“At 35-26, I thought, alright, this is going to be a ball game. We’re going to have a chance to win this thing. I could not have been more wrong.”

Things didn’t really get sideways until the opening minutes of the second half when a 15-0 SMU run sent Rice spiraling. Outside of Huseinovic, the Rice offense was spotty at best. Mekhi Mason, fresh off a career day against UTSA, was quiet, scoring just eight points. Travis Evee was 0-for-5 from three. As a result, the Rice deficit would only continue to balloon.

Pera was almost at a loss for words in the aftermath. “I wouldn’t be this upset if I didn’t know it was in there. If I didn’t know what this team is capable of. If I didn’t know how much these kids cared. If I didn’t know how much they really want to win then I wouldn’t be this upset.”

SMU led by as many as 29 points, closing out the game with ease and sending Rice to their seventh consecutive defeat at home in conference play. All three of the Owls’ AAC victories thus far have come on the road.

Final Box | SMU 95 – Rice 69

Key takeaway | Inconsistency from Top to Bottom

Travis Evee and Max Fiedler are the heart and soul of this basketball team. The veteran leaders combined to score 18 points and grab seven boards against SMU on Wednesday night. Either of them is capable of reaching those totals themself, and it wouldn’t require all that unusual of a performance to get there.

“We’re not winning in this league if Max and Travis aren’t playing well,” Pera said point-blank. “Our room for error here isn’t large.”

Rice basketball didn’t lose the game solely because their vets had off nights, but the inconsistency from the top down points toward a lingering problem for this team as a whole. They’re hot and cold to an extreme. At their best, they can take down Memphis and go toe-to-toe with FAU. Both of those teams have been in the Top 25 this season. But when things aren’t clicking it can get messy. Fast.

With another crucial home game looming against South Florida, Pera took full responsibility on Wednesday night “I am not deflecting blame. This is on me,” he said. “This is my responsibility. I am going to hold myself accountable and my staff. We are going to dissect the tape, watch the first USF game and find ways to help these kids be better.”

Up Next: vs USF (Saturday, Feb. 10)

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Rice Basketball edges UTSA for third straight road win

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Rice basketball avoided a late collapse against UTSA, holding off a late rally to beat the Roadrunners. It was the Owls’ third straight road win.

After struggling to shoot the ball for weeks, Rice basketball knocked down a trio of three pointers in the first two and a half minutes of their Saturday afternoon contest against UTSA. Staked to a strong start from three, the Owls’ shooting from the rest of the court followed. Rice shot 46 percent from the floor in the first half, all the while keeping UTSA off balance on the other side the court.

By the time halftime arrived Rice had accumulated a double-digit lead. Wary of losing a large lead for the umpteenth time over the last several weeks, the Owls came out of halftime composed and aggressive. Mekhi Mason added to what would become a career day with 10 points in the first six minutes of the half, pushing the Rice lead to as many as 16.

UTSA would rally. Rice would counterpunch. Leading by 15 with five minutes to go, it looked as if Rice was going to avoid a second-half swoon. But rather than play out the final minutes in peace, UTSA would go on a 15-3 run, all-but erasing the Rice lead and getting the game within one score in the final 30 seconds.

Fortunately for the Owls, Anthony Selden would knock down a pair of free throws, getting the Owls’ edge back to four points before UTSA ran out of time.

Rice basketball head coach Scott Pera hit the nail on the head in his postgame remarks following a nail-biting win against UTSA on Saturday afternoon. “If they make the layup, who knows what crazy stuff can happen, especially in this series. What would this series be if something crazy didn’t happen? It’s just been an unbelievable series of close games.”

“I’m just glad we could get out of here with a win,” he said, exhaling after a stressful 40 minutes in San Antonio.

Final Box | Rice 80 – UTSA 76

Key takeaway | Mekhi rising

When Quincy Olivari departed for Xavier, it was widely assumed Travis Evee would take over as the Owls’ de facto scorer. Even with some of his struggles, Evee is leading the team with 15.7 points per game. Right behind him? Mekhi Mason, now sitting at 14.7 points per game after a 30-point outburst against the Roadrunners.

Even before his career day, though, Mason was becoming one of the most consistent scorers on this roster. You have to go back to January 3 against Tulane to find the last time he didn’t reach double figures in points (he had nine). He’s only had one game below eight points since Thanksgiving.

Mason is ninth in the American Conference in scoring in league games. He’s become a force all opponents must account for which, in turn, is freeing up Evee and the rest of his teammates for more opportunities.

Up Next: vs SMU (Wednesday, Feb. 7)

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UPSET! Rice Basketball stuns Memphis

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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)

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