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Rice Basketball rolls past North American

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Rice basketball bounced back from a tough road loss at Texas with a comfortable beatdown of North American at Tudor Fieldhouse.

If there was an emotional hangover from the overtime loss at Texas on Monday, no one on the court for Rice basketball on Wednesday morning showed any signs of it. Days after the near-miss, Rice emptied its bench on it’s home court against a less talented team, coasting to a landslide victory to stay undefeated at Tudor Fieldhouse this year.

North American led just once in the entire game courtesy of a modest six-point run around the first media timeout of the first half. That 10-9 advantage for the visitors lasted for less than a minute. Cam Sheffield knocked down a three to spark a 9-0 Rice run and the Owls had the breathing room they needed to keep their opponents at bay.

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The two sides who trade buckets for a while, then Rice added an 8-0 run in the final minutes before the halftime buzzer. Up by 15 at the break thanks to a layup by Travis Evee, the Owls continued to pour it on.

Rice basketball opened the second half on a staggering 34-12 run. From that point onward, the game was essentially decided. 16 different Owls saw action.

Player Spotlight | Andrew Akuchie

Quincy Olivari went off for 20+ points, again, but it was the 10-point game of freshman Andrew Akuchie that stood out. It was his first double-digit scoring effort of his young Rice career and another reminder the depth on this team is continuing to strengthen, Akuchie might not be a starter just yet, but he’s a capable young player with plenty of upside.

A 10-point, 4-rebound outing just a few games into his Rice career is another positive step in his growth that was extremely encouraging to see.

Final Box | Rice 92 – North American 54

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball has two more games in their current homestand. They’ll play another on Saturday against Northwestern State before taking on Jarvis Christian in their final non-conference game of the season. All three of those games are scheduled to be streamed on CUSAtv.

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Rice Basketball loses upset bid in OT, falls to Texas

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Rice basketball took Texas to the brink but was unable to secure the historic upset, falling to the Longhorns in overtime.

Whether it was good fortune or a willingness to take advantage of what had been a turbulent day for the Texas program, Rice basketball came out ready to play on Monday evening at the Moody Center. Max Fiedler put Rice on the board with a layup to start the scoring, which would casually ping-pong back and forth in the early goings as both teams adjusted to the pace of the game. Then the Owls took off.

Alem Huseinvoic knocked down back-to-back threes with Quincy Olivari following with another, a 9-0 Rice run. Texas would battle back but was never able to get in front. Rice went into the break with a 33-29 lead and a real shot to pull off a monumental upset.

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The Owls, who hadn’t beaten a ranked Texas squad since 1982 and had lost their last 10 meetings with the Longhorns, sensed an opportunity and never quit. Although Texas was able to take the lead in the second half, Rice always seemed to answer.

Both teams exchanged minored leads throughout the remainder of the contest. Texas would lead by as many as six points in regulation but was never able to pull away. Ultimately, Rice would have their shot, a jumper by Huseinovic in a tie game with the buzzer imminent. Instead, the ball hit iron and the Owls would go on to lose in overtime.

The loss will sting, but it’s worth noting this wasn’t just a bad night from Texas that Rice stumbled upon. No, Texas shot 50 percent from the floor and narrowly outrebounded Rice 40-39. This was a full 45-minute dogfight and the Owls acquitted themselves well before ultimately running out of game.

Player Spotlight | Quincy Olivari

Olivari had strung together some impressive games over the month of December, but his performance against Texas might have been his most inspired showing yet. Olivari tied for the lead among all scorers with 28 points, connecting on 4-of-9 from three and 6-of-7 from the free throw line, also grabbing five boards and dishing out four assists.

It felt like he was involved in most of the momentum-shifting plays on Monday night. Had it not been for his effort, the Owls wouldn’t have been in this game.

Final Box | Texas 87 – Rice 81 (OT)

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball heads back home for a three-game homestand which gets started on Thursday night against North American. They’ll play another on Saturday against Northwestern State before taking on Jarvis Christian in their final non-conference game of the season. All three of those games are scheduled to be streamed on CUSAtv.

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Rice Basketball outpaces Texas State for fifth straight win

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Rice basketball leads for the duration in an impressive road win over Texas State, their fifth consecutive victory.

Rice basketball has battled through a few games where the shots weren’t falling in the first half and a second half comeback was necessary. The opposite proved true on Sunday afternoon against Texas State. The Owls came out of the gates red-hot, surging to a quick 14-4 lead before the first media timeout, courtesy of a 9-0 run.

The team parlayed the strong start into a robust performance. Following a layup that cut the Owls’ advantage to five points, Rice exploded on a second long run, this time of the 12-0 variety. Soon after, a three-pointer from Cameron Sheffield put Rice up by 18 points with 6:32 to play in the first half.

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Texas State would attempt a rally and cut the Rice lead down to 10 points at halftime. The game would stick around the margin for some time after the break before Rice ripped off an 11-0 run to push their advantage to 20 points, a stark divergence from the Owls’ prior pair of road trips of the year.

After losing a road game at Pepperdine by 40 points and at Middle Tennesee by 35 points, any kind of victory would have been encouraging on Sunday against Texas State. Not only did Rice hold on to win, they did so in dominant fashion, never trailing and walking away from San Marcos with a double-digit win.

Player Spotlight | Quincy Olivari

So much went right for Rice basketball in this one, but it was Quincy Olivari that steered the ship. He scored a season-high 30 points, knocking down five three-pointers, providing a jolt during each of the Owls’ three big runs that helped amass such a large lead. He also added five rebounds and four assists.

Final Box | Rice 83 – Texas State 71

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball will play its final nonconference road game next week against the University of Texas. That game is scheduled to tip off on Monday night in Austin, TX at 7:00 p.m. It will be streamed on the Longhorn Network.

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Rice Basketball grinds out home win over PVAMU

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Rice basketball found a way to grind out a low-scoring, defensive affair against Prairie View A&M on Wednesday night to stay unbeaten at home.

Winners of three straight, Rice basketball brought plenty of positive history with them into a midweek matchup with Prairie View A&M. The Owls were undefeated on their home court this season and had never lost to Prairie View A&M in program history. Those streaks quickly became irrelevant anecdotes as soon as both teams hit the court and the home team was put to the test.

Neither side shot the ball well out of the gate, but the Owls’ offensive output was particularly troubling. At their lowest they were 5-of-18 (28%) from the floor, somehow keeping the game within a six-point margin throughout the first 19 minutes without finding much success from the floor, at least until a three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Panthers a seven-point lead, their largest of the night.

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Prairie View would strike first in the second half, led by Braden Bell who drilled his third three-pointer in as many shots to extend their lead to 12 points. He’d been 2-of-12 entering the game but couldn’t seem to miss on Wednesday night before eventually fouling out.

Foul trouble was an issue for both sides and Rice used it to its advantage, knocking down 26 free throws to help them climb out of that large hole. In dire need of a spark, Quincy Olivari obliged, almost single-handily keeping the Owls afloat with 13 consecutive points in less than five minutes — none of his teammates had as many points in the full 40 minutes — until Travis Evee knocked down consecutive threes to tie the game.

Once Rice got level, it was game on. Prairie View A&M earned a meager two-point lead following Rice pulling even, but that would be it. Olivari put Rice in front for good with a free throw, one of a career-high 11 makes from the charity stripe — and the Owls held on to close it out.

Player Spotlight | Cameron Sheffield

While Olivari was lifting the team with his shooting stroke, Sheffield was dominating on the glass. He led all players with 15 rebounds, including four offensive boards. He only took three shots, but his impact on the game was massive.

“I couldn’t take him out. I just had tremendous trust in what he was doing,” head coach Scott Pera said after the game. “People have roles on the team. Not only is he good at this role, he’s embracing his role.”

Likewise, Olivari was quick to heap on his own praise. “It’s the reason we won,” he said, referencing Sheffield’s performance.

Final Box | Rice 70 – PVAMU 62

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball will hit the road next after playing four straight games in the span of two weeks at Tudor Fieldhouse. They’ll play in San Marcos, TX at Texas State on Sunday. The tip-off for that game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.

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Rice Basketball rallies from 17 down, tops Houston Christian

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Rice basketball started slow, but caught fire late, securing a perfect 3-0 weekend at home with a Monday night win over Houston Christian.

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. At least that’s how the old adage is supposed to go. right? It was indeed a fitting description of how Rice basketball faired against Houston Christian in the final game of the Owl Invitational. Already 2-0 on the weekend, it took the full 40 minutes for the Owls to complete the weekend sweep on Monday Night.

Things couldn’t have started much worse. HCU knocked down four threes in the first five minutes of regulation, jumping out to an 11-point lead with Rice registering just three early points via a three from Quincy Olivari. HCU would lead by as many as 17 points in the first half, entering the break at exactly that margin.

At halftime, Rice basketball head coach Scott Pera told his team to break up the second half into four-minute chunks up to the media timeouts. “I had my grad assistant tell me the score of each four-minute segment,” Pera said. “And I remember the first one clearly being 12 to 2.”

More: Rice Basketball Season Preview

Respond they did. Rice didn’t slow down from the torrid pace with which they started the second half. They also had an 8-0 run a little bit later. Despite HCU knocking down 13 three-pointers and the Owls shooting a mediocre 25 percent from long-range themselves, the Owls battled back.

Finally, with 6:51 left on the clock, Rice basketball took its first lead of the night. Mekhi Mason did the honors, slashing through the lane for a basket and draining the subsequent free throw. Rice would surrender the lead briefly on the following possession but retake it immediately afterward, stretching it to double digits and holding on to remain undefeated at home.

Player Spotlight | Mekhi Mason

Welcome to South Main, Mekhi Mason. The highly-anticipated freshman scored 11 against Georgia Southern on Friday, the previous highwater mark of his young now six-game career. He’d made at least one three in every game to this point and he’d shot fairly well from the floor as a whole, but he hadn’t really had a breakthrough game, not yet.

That changed on Monday. With his team trailing in need of a spark, Mason took over. He led all scorers with 25 points, knocking down 4-of-7 from three with an additional three assists, to boot. He was lights out from the floor, missing just four of his 13 shots.

“He’s a talented, talented you man. I’m really happy for him,” Pera said. “He really picked us up.”

Final Box | Rice 76 – HCU 67

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball has one final game in the month of November before turning the page to the December slate. They’ll host Prairie View A&M on Wednesday, Nov. 20, giving the team an extended Thanksgiving Break.

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