The source for Rice sports news

Rice Basketball outpaces Texas State for fifth straight win

By

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.

Want More Rice sports news? Subscribe on Patreon

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.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Basketball grinds out home win over PVAMU

By

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.

Want More Rice sports news? Subscribe on Patreon

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+.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Basketball rallies from 17 down, tops Houston Christian

By

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.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Basketball closes strong, dispatches Western Michigan at home

By

Rice basketball caught fire late, taking down Western Michigan to stay perfect at the Owl Invitational with one game still to play.

A day after a furious second half explosion to take down Georgia Southern, Rice basketball faced an early test against Western Michigan in their second game of the Owl Invitation at Tudor Fieldhouse. Travis Evee opened the scoring with a three-pointer, but Western Michigan would spend the majority of the first half in front, leading by as many as eight points.

The lead would never stretch farther than that. Cam Sheffield hit a couple of baskets to get Rice back into the game. The two sides traded blows for a few more minutes before Rice closed the half on an 8-0 run in the final 28 seconds, with Quincy Olivari leveling the score with a triple of his own at the buzzer.

More: Rice Basketball Season Preview

Rice would jump out in front by four on a three from Travis Evee shortly after the break, but the lead would be short-lived. Western Michigan rallied, this time stretching their advantage to nine points at the midpoint of the half. The Owls would lead again until the clock went under 3:00 and Olivari drained another three-ball to put the home team up by one.

From then, Travis Evee put on a clinic at the charity stripe, knocking down his free throws and sending Rice home with a win.

Player Spotlight | Travis Evee

Rice basketball had a few big performances that helped propel them to a win on Saturday, but it was the clutch shooting of Evee down the stretch that stole the show. He was 10-of-12 from the line on the afternoon, finishing a pristine 9-of-9 in the final three minutes, making it impossible for Western Michigan to mount a comeback. He just didn’t miss, including a three-pointer interspersed between the free throws to put the gam out of reach for good.

Final Box | Rice 96 – WMU 88

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball is two games into the Owl Invitational. They’ll finish on Monday against Houston Christian. After that, the Owls have another home game on deck, this time against Prairie View A&M on Nov. 30.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Basketball Roundup: MBB over GA Southern, WBB over Pacific

By

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

Rice Basketball

Rice basketball still has early season kinks to work through but got back in the win column on Friday with a hard-fought victory against Georgia Southern.

With defense still very much a work in progress, anything is possible. What might have been a comfortable home-court advantage for Rice basketball did not last on Friday night against Georgia Southern. The Owls watched an eight-point lead vanish in the moments before halftime, ceding a 9-0 run by the visitors to fall behind 48-47 at the break.

As the three-pointing shooting started to slow in the second half, Rice turned to Max Fiedler in the post. He was extremely effective, making his shots count and scoring all of his nine points in the second half. Rice retook the lead and stretched it to as many as 17 points, hanging on to win a wild one at home.

Final Box | Rice 88 – Georgia So. 71

Key takeaway | The shots will start falling

At some point, the shots were going to start falling. Off nights from the field are an unfortunate cost of doing business for a team that relies on the three-ball as much as Rice basketball does. That said, nights like Friday serve as a reminder that any night can be a good shooting night.

Rice hit seven of their first 10 three and 10-of-23 from distance for the evening. Their previous high in triples in a game this year had been 14 against St. Thomas. Their high for the entirety of last season was 15 against Houston Baptist. If that’s any indication, even better nights from distance are coming and a good (not quite great) night at the office was enough to get the win.

Up Next: vs Western Michigan – Saturday, Nov. 19 at 5:00 p.m.

Rice Women's Basketball

Rice women’s basketball kept their perfect start to the season rolling with another road win, this time over Pacific in a relatively comfortable fashion.

Not long after a double-digit road win over Saint Mary’s, Rice women’s basketball took to the court at Pacific a few days later and produced a similar result. The Owls jumped out to an early lead behind a strong defensive showing, holding Pacific to 25 percent shooting from the floor in the first quarter. That enabled Rice to amass a 10-point lead at the break.

It wouldn’t be easy, though. Rice held serve in the third quarter, but Pacific came alive in the final frame. They outscore the Owls 28-24 in the fourth, making 5-of-9 from deep, but it wouldn’t be enough. Rice would make the defensive stands they needed to and hit their free throws, moving to 4-0 on the season with the win.

Final Box | Rice 89 – Pacific 79

Key takeaway | The defense is coming

Following the Owls’ season-opening game against SFA, coach Edmonds mentioned she’d hoped for a better defensive showing, giving up 77 points was too much in her highest. The team responded by cutting their points against total to 69 (vs Abilene Christian), then to 64 (at St. Mary’s).

The Owls were trending that way after holding their foes to 34 points in the first half, but a second-half barrage pushed Pacific’s final total to 79 points, several points of which came in catch-up mode with the Owls shooting free throws.

That total was never going to continue to fall forever, but it’s pretty clear the message was received. The defense has been much better, particularly in key moments. And they’re probably not done improving that facet of their game just yet either.

Up Next: at Texas Southern – Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 2:00 p.m.

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

Recent Posts