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Rice Basketball Tops Oral Roberts to Close Out Coconut Hoops

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Less than 48 hours removed from heartbreaking overtime losses, Rice Basketball bounced back and posted a big win over Oral Roberts at Coconut Hoops.

A grueling week at Coconut Hoops got off to a familiar start on Wednesday with Rice Basketball taking an early lead, this time against Oral Roberts. The Owls scored first and traded baskets with the Golden Eagles for much of the first half before Trade Broadnax earned the team some separation with successive possessions with a three and a jumper that put Rice in front by ten.

Ahead by a decent margin with four minutes to play, Rice was able to keep the margin there with even play from both sides of the court, answering the two field goals Oral Roberts was able to make in the final five minutes of the half, entering intermission with a 12 point advantage.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Rice really seized control in earnest right out of the break. Jimmy Oladokun kicked off a 12-4 run that put the Owls ahead by 20. A steady barrage of threes and hard earned free throws ensured the advantage was never again distilled to single digits.

Rice Basketball held on to win, improving to 3-6 with the win. The Owls are 1-4 away from Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Rice 81, Oral Roberts 62

What They’re Saying

“That was a good week. It was a great way to cap off what I though was a week of tremendous growth for our team. We played together. We played tough, hard-nosed defense. We didn’t close out the first two games, but I thought we did a great job finishing this game. Our defense really stepped up in the second half.” – Rice Basketball head coach Rob Lanier

Key takeaway | Bringing the Heat from Deep

Rice basketball shot better than 50 percent from the floor on Wednesday, a welcomed offensive boost from a team that hadn’t quite found its shooting stroke in earnest this season. When combined with a strong defensive effort that kept Oral Roberts in check to the tune of 38 percent from the field, Rice was in a good place. The three-pointers sealed the deal.

Rice tied a season-high with 12 three-pointers getting three each from Broadnax and Jalen Smith and four from Nick Anderson. If Rice can get near that level of production from that trio — and build on early promise from freshman Cam Carroll who scored 10 on 2-for-3 from deep — Rice has the potential to be feisty down the stretch. Good defense with some deep shots will give teams fits. The next step is finding a way to produce that level of play more consistently.

Up Next: vs Texas State (Wed, Dec. 3 at 8:00 pm)

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Rice Basketball Ambushed by FGCU in OT

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Rice Basketball never trailed in regulation, but found themselves in a double-digit deficit, losing to FGCU in overtime at the Coconut Hoops Tournament.

Points were at a premium in the early goings of the second Rice basketball contest at Coconut Hoops. Jimmy Oladokun opened the scoring against Florida Gulf Coast with a layup more than two minutes into the contest as the Owls slowly began to accumulate a modest advantage.

Rice opened up a 9-2 edge, eventually growing the lead to 13 points on a big three-pointer from Jalen Smith. Florida Gulf Coast would close the half strong, though, knocking down consecutive three pointers to cut the gap to seven at intermission.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

That late push would prove to be the spark Florida Gulf Coast needed from deep. Riding hot three-point shooting from Jordan Ellerbee, the local team would trim the Owls’ advantage to one point midway through the second half. Rice never trailed in regulation, but a missed jumper from Trae Broadnax at the buzzer left the door open for overtime. Florida Gulf Coast capitilized.

The Eagles, who had yet to lead at any point in the first 40 minutes, scored the first 13 points in the extra period, putting the game out of reach before the Owls were able to get their feet underneath them. For a second game in a row, the Owls were bystanders in extra time.

Rice Basketball falls to 2-6 with the loss. The Owls are 0-4 away from Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | FGCU 78, Rice 63

Key takeaway | Deja Vu All Over Again

For those who might have missed this game, the script mirrored the first Rice Basketball contest at Coconut Hoops. Just like they did Tuesday against Florida Gulf Coast, Rice led Kennesaw State for the bulk of regulation but couldn’t find a way to close the door in regulation.

Trae Broadnax fouled out. Kennesaw State outscored Rice 6-1 in overtime.

One day later, Trae Broadnax fouled out against Florida Gulf Coast, who outscored Rice 19-4 in overtime.

Two very winnable games. And Rice basketball had ample opportunities to win in the first 40 minutes but couldn’t close either out. Either would have bee gut-wrenching another, but for these games to occur in succession was particularly cruel. If this team can survive this, it should all be uphill from here, because it’s hard to imagine a more painful way to lose two basketball games in a two day span.

Up Next: GEICO Coconut Hoops vs Oral Roberts (Wed, Nov. 26 at 3:30 pm)

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Rice Basketball Falls in OT to Kennesaw State

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Rice Basketball and Kennesaw State needed more than 40 minutes to resolve their opening matchup at the Coconut Hoops Tournament, with Kennesaw State winning in OT.

Rice Basketball played a nerve-racking opening game to the Coconut Hoops Tournament that was tight throughout. Kennesaw State opened the scoring before Rice quickly answered to produce one of seven first half ties. Kennesaw State led by as many as nine, but it was Rice that took a one point lead into halftime.

A strong start to the second frame by Trae Broadnax looked like it would give Rice some breathing room. It was two successive baskets from Stephen Giwa and another jumper from Broadnax that gave Rice an 11-point edge, the largest by either team in the game to that point. Yet Kennesaw State would not go away.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Kennesaw quickly whittled the Rice lead from 11 to none, going ahead by a point with 6:33 remaining in the contest and daring Rice to answer. They would, retaking the lead for a brief period before a Kennesaw State jumper with six seconds left forced overtime. Kennesaw outscored Rice 6-1 in the extra period to secure the in.

Rice Basketball falls to 2-5 with the loss. The Owls are 0-3 away from Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Kennesaw State 89, Rice 84

Key takeaway | Learning Resiliency

This was a 45-minute grind that took a lot of effort to get to the finish line. When Rice went up by 11, it looked for a moment like they’d done just enough to put the game out of reach. Instead, that advantage went up in smoke more quickly than it took for Rice to create the lead in the first place.

Less tough teams might have thrown in the proverbial towel at that point. Rice has certainly had some less than resilient showings so far this season. So for the Owls to weather the storm, absorb the rally, and still find a way to regroup and finish was notable. But when Broadnax left the court for overtime, baskets seemed to stop falling.

The first few weeks of the season have shown us this team is going to have its hot and cold stretches. Effort and willpower are controllable things that can steal wins on days when everything isn’t going according to plan or their opponent is making some shots of their own. A win like this would have gone a long way, but the way the loss transpired is further evidence this team has more work to do.

Up Next: GEICO Coconut Hoops vs Florida Gulf Coast (Tues, Nov. 25 at 6:00 pm)

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Rice Basketball Rallies Past East Texas A&M

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Rice basketball persevered through a slow start, rallying past East Texas A&M with a strong finish to improve to 2-1 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

For the second time in just a few days, Rice basketball found itself playing from behind on its home court. East Texas A&M opened the game by making five of its first 10 field goals as Rice sputtered to a 3-13 start. Trailing 13-7 near the midpoint of the first half, the Owls finally got into some rhythm on the court and began to mount an offensive of their own.

A slim six-point deficit dwindled and became a lead when Nick Anderson drained a triple in the final minutes of the first half. Rice would go into the break up by one, far from being firmly in control, but having braved the worst of the East Texas A&M attack.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Rice looked more composed with the ball in the second half. Tied up at 37 near the first media timeout, the Owls would go on a 14-4 run with key three pointers from Anderson and Trae Broadnax to reach their first double-digit lead. Both sides would trade baskets down the stretch after that, but the Lions never threatened again.

The Owls improve to 2-2 with the win and are 2-1 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Rice 71, East Texas A&M 64

What They’re Saying

“The main adjustment really was just we had to play harder. We had to turn it up as a group. We felt as though we weren’t playing up to the standard that we set for each other. In the second half we came out and we’re like, we’re really going to put our foot on these guys necks.” – Rice basketball guard Dallas Hobbs on the adjustments the team made at halftime

Key takeaway | Scoring Helps

Rice Basketball is coming off a 2024-2025 season in which the Owls finished last in the American Conference in field goal percentage, knocking down a paltry 42.1 percent of their attempts. The rebuilt roster with the additions of Jalen Smith, Nick Anderson and Dallas Hobbs was expected to help remedy that significantly, but there were never any illusions this team was going to be knocking down every shot.

However, some shots would help.

After shooting worse than 36 percent in their last two games, Rice opened this one with a dreary 35 percent mark in the first half. Leading by one point, the Owls looked to be in for another slog before waking up in the second half and shooting a scalding 64 percent from the floor.

There’s ample room for growth when it comes to consistency, but it’s nice to see at least some of the shots start to fall. Rice can’t expect to finish the game 8-for-12 from three after intermission, but Friday’s showing should be proof they’re capable. They just need to find a way to do it more regularly as the quality of competition continues to increase.

Up Next: vs Tennessee (Nov. 17 at 7:30 pm)

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Rice Basketball Can’t Keep Up with Sharpshooting SFA

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Rice basketball dropped its first home game of the season, falling at home to Stephen F. Austin who took an early and never looked back.

Not far removed from a stout defensive showing against Oregon, Rice basketball found themselves on their heels rather quickly on Tuesday night at Tudor Fieldhouse. Owls’ guard Trae Broadnax scored the first points of the night before SFA took control, racing out to a double-digit first half lead. The Jacks controlled the pace of the game in the early going, keeping the home team off balance.

Trailing by five at the break, the situation worsened when SFA reeled off a 9-0 run in the early minutes of the second half as their red-hot shooting performance refused to slow down. The visitors were still shooting better than 50 percent from the field — they’d finish at 49.1 percent — making it hard for the Owls’ to narrow the deficit even when their shots started to fall later in the half.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

There was less than four minutes on the clock when Rice got deficit back within single digits again. Broadnax did his part, leading the way with 21 points, 17 of which came in the second half. It wouldn’t be enough to overcome the sizable hole as Rice fell at home for the first time this season. The Owls are 1-2 overall.

Final Box | SFA 81, Rice 69

Key takeaway | Out of Sync

At the beginning of the season, Rice basketball head coach Rob Lanier explained that the mantra for the team this season would be being undefeated. No matter what the final box score showed, Lanier wanted this to be a team that was relentless in their effort and never allowed any one game to take steal their focus from the next assignment.

Rice won the rebounding battle 39-36, but did not defend well. Only three times last season did Rice allow its opponents to shoot better than 49 percent from the floor, making this kind of defensive performance among the most disappointing from a Lanier-led squad.

Whether it was the hangover from the near-miss against Oregon or something else, the Owls just didn’t look fully like themselves tonight. Were they defeated? Maybe not, but they weren’t the best version of themselves and SFA took full advantage of that and won the game. All this team can do now is refocus and find a way to get back in the win column on Friday.

Up Next: vs East Texas A&M (Nov. 14 at 7:00 pm)

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