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Furious comeback falls short as Rice Basketball falls to SUU

March 20, 2023 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice basketball engineered a furious comeback, but couldn’t make the final defensive stop, falling to Southern Utah in the CBI Tournament.

Whether it was exhaustion, poor execution or just bad luck, Rice basketball started its quarterfinal round game against Southern Utah in a nine-point hole. SUU came out shooting extremely efficiently, knocking down 62 percent of their shots from the field in the first half as the Owls struggled immensely to get going.

“We just couldn’t make a shot,” head coach  Scott Pera said in dismay. “We couldn’t make a shot, other than Travis [Evee].”

It was Evee who kept Rice afloat. He scored a team-high 18 points in the first half while his teammates scored 21 combined. Rice went into the break trailing 12, in desperate need of a rally that wouldn’t come for quite a long time.

“I was hoping the run would be at the 17-minute mark or the 14-minute mark or the 9-minute mark,” Pera said.

Instead, that run came in the final minutes of the game. Trailing by 14 points with 6:30 to play, Rice started to chip away. Quincy Olivari hit some free throws then Mekhi Mason made a three to make it a nine-point game. Olivari and Max Fiedler (twice) each converted and-one opportunities, offset by a few SUU free throws to make it a six-point game. Cam Sheffield cut the deficit to three.

Then, with 24 seconds on the clock and the season on the line, Evee delivered the game-tying three. Southern Utah would drain the clock down to its final seconds then connect on the go-ahead jumper. Olivari’s long heave at the buzzer did not go and despite erasing an unthinkable deficit, the Owls’ season still ended in bitter fashion.

Final Box | SUU 81 – Rice 79

FINAL | SUU 81 – @RiceMBB 79

Owls' season comes to an end in the CBI quarter finals. pic.twitter.com/ShZynjHgRF

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) March 20, 2023

Key takeaway | Doomed by defense

A year ago, Rice basketball played in this same CBI Tournament in this same arena on this same court. Pera hasn’t forgotten because the image of last season’s CBI defeat is seared into his brain in much the same way this loss will be. After overcoming a late deficit, that time against Ohio, Rice watched the Bobcats hit the game-winner at the buzzer and end the Owls’ season.

“That’s two years in a row on the same basket,” Pera lamented.

This time around, Rice basketball doesn’t get to the final shot without several crucial defensive stops in the second half. It wasn’t all offense that fueled this comeback. That the bottom line remains the same. In back-to-back seasons Rice basketball has needed one final stop to prolong their season and they haven’t been able to do it.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball defeats BYU to advance in WNIT

In some respects, Pera is right when he credited his opponents and the player in question, Tevian Jones who ended with 30 points including that game-winner. “They made one more play. That kid made a heck of a shot,” Pera said. But the Owls are still going home.

If Rice basketball wants to be a championship-caliber program, they have to get drastically better on defense. They’ve proven time and time again they can find good shooters. They’ve proven they have the mental capacity to climb out of unthinkable holes. But they haven’t consistently been able to get the most important stop when their season depends on it. And now they’re going home.

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Filed Under: Archive, Basketball Tagged With: Cameron Sheffield, CBI Tournament, game recap, Max Fiedler, Mekhi Mason, Quincy Olivari, Rice basketball, Travis Evee

Rice Basketball upsets Duquesne to advance in 2023 CBI Tournament

March 19, 2023 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice basketball survived a three-point barrage by Duquesne and defeated the Dukes, moving on to the second round of the CBI Tournament.

A 12-Seed in the 2023 CBI Tournament, Rice basketball certainly didn’t play like an underdog in Daytona Beach on Sunday afternoon. After trading minor leads in the early portions of the first half, Rice combined a furious scoring assault with a stingy defensive stretch to go on an 18-2 run and take a 13-point lead over the Duquesne Dukes.

Duquesne didn’t stay down long, thundering back via a three-point assault. As Rice found success inside (dominating Duqeuense in the paint 46-18), Duquense knocked down 14 threes but did not hit a three for a span of almost 10 minutes of play, hampering their attempts at a comeback.

As has often been the case for Rice basketball this season, Travis Evee and Quincy Olivari led the way. After failing to score any points in the first half, Olivari came alive in the second, scoring a game-high 19 second-half points and propelling Rice to a late lead.

When asked what sparked Olivari’s key second-half resurgence, head coach Scott Pera credited Olivari’s maturity and poise. “I’ve coached him for four years,” he said. “Sometimes you say something to him and get on him and sometimes you say nothing because he knows… and he knew. And he was ready to go in the second half.”

The battle raged on that way until the final minutes when Andrew Akuchie hit a layup and Mekhi Mason followed that score immediately with a steal and two free throws. That put Rice up by 11 with 1:25 to play. Duquesne hit a few more threes from that point but was unable to dig out of the hole as Rice was able to survive and advance to the next round.

“It’s just another barrier we knocked down,” Pera said of the win. “[It’s] another step for the program and I’m just really proud of the guys.”

Final Box | Rice 84 – Duquesne 78

FINAL | @RiceMBB 84 – Duquesne 78

The Owls are moving on! pic.twitter.com/8cGWpmqoE2

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) March 19, 2023

Key takeaway | Making the good times count

Consistency hasn’t been the hallmark of Rice basketball this season, but the Owls have certainly been explosive. In this game, Rice went on runs of 11-0, 7-0, 6-0 and 5-0 (twice), leading by as many as 13 points toward the end of the first half. With those highs, though, came the lows. Rice allowed runs of 10-0 and 8-0, both in the first half.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball defeats BYU to advance in WNIT

Eliminating the lapses on defense isn’t going to happen at this point in the season. In the interim, that means the solution is making those offensive explosions count. When Rice is hot, making that extra shot to turn a 5-0 run into a 7-0 run will help buy them some cushion in the event they need it later in the game and history shows, that time will probably come.

Up Next: CBI Tournament vs 4-Seed Southern Utah (1:00 p.m. CT)

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Filed Under: Archive, Basketball Tagged With: Andrew Akuchie, CBI Tournament, game recap, Mekhi Mason, Quincy Olivari, Rice basketball, Travis Evee

Rice Basketball bounced from C-USA Tournament by UAB

March 9, 2023 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice basketball hung around for a while, but couldn’t keep pace with UAB, bowing out in the second round of the Conference USA Tournament.

It was going to take an extremely well-played game for Rice basketball to give UAB a run for its money. The Owls did not get that out of the gate, turning the ball over frequently and falling behind 12-5 in the first five minutes. Rice collected itself and made some threes, retaking the lead 16-12 on an 11-0 run.

In that span, Rice looked comfortable on both sides of the court. They protected the basketball and took advantage of UAB’s mistakes. They hung tough through the ensuing UAB run, falling behind by 10 before firing back to make it a two-point game with one minute remaining before the halftime buzzer. Travis Evee and Max Fiedler provided almost all of the scoring on an unusually quiet night from Quincy Olivari.

It was at that one-minute mark when the poise of UAB made the difference. Rice fouled a three-point shooter, allowed a separate three-point shot and a dunk, all in the span of 57 seconds. Just like that, Rice was back down by 10 in a game they had largely played evenly with one of the conference’s best teams.

Rice would get within five early in the second half, but another rash of turnovers and the unstoppable play of UAB’s Jelly Walker proved too much. He made four consecutive three-point shots, sparking a 15-4 UAB run. Up 17 points at the under-12 timeout, Rice was unable to dig out of the hole, falling in the second round and seeing their regular season come to an end.

Final Box | UAB 87 – Rice 60

FINAL | UAB 87 – @RiceMBB 60 pic.twitter.com/6rfGxmDTdi

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) March 10, 2023

Key takeaway | Talented, but flawed

In many ways, the two-game sample of the Conference USA Tournament summed up the Rice basketball season. The Owls found a way to hang on to a win against a UTSA team below them in the standings, but it took a last-second prayer to make it happen. Then they rose to the occasion and gave a really good UAB team a scare, only for their inconsistent ball handling and spotty defense to be exposed late.

Evee hit just about everything on Thursday night. Fiedler was the key piece in the middle. Olivari had an off night, but we’ve seen him drop 20+ on a regular basis. Mekhi Mason and Cameron Sheffield have both produced throughout the year. One can’t question the raw talent on this team. But for whatever reason, it wasn’t enough.

Head coach Scott Pera is going to have to take a hard look in the mirror this offseason and find a way to reassemble the pieces in a way that produces more consistent results. The talent is there.

Up Next | ???

Rice basketball finished the regular season 16-16 last year and earned an invite to the CBI. At 18-15 this season, they’re probably in line to return to that tournament again, should they decide that’s something they’d want to do. Pera has talked in the past about how important postseason basketball is to the program, so it seems likely the Owls 2022-2023 campaign will have at least one more stanza.

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Filed Under: Archive, Basketball Tagged With: Cameron Sheffield, Conference USA Basketball, conference usa tournament, game recap, Max Fiedler, Mekhi Mason, Quincy Olivari, Rice basketball, Travis Evee

Rice Basketball 2023 Roster Tracker

February 25, 2023 By Matthew Bartlett

The Rice basketball roster will grow and change between the end of the regular season and the start of the next. Stay tuned here for updates.

Roster churn has become a part of college sports as we know and Rice basketball is not immune to the ebb and flow of players coming in and out. With the 2022-2023 season in the books, this page will serve as a running tracker regarding the roster for the upcoming season as it currently stands. The last official roster is available here.

More: 2023 Rice Basketball State of the Program

Feel free to bookmark it and refer back to it from time to time as players announce their intentions throughout the offseason.

Departing with Eligibility (4)

  • G Quincy Olivari
  • F Seryee Lewis
  • G Jaden Geron
  • G Mason Jones

Departing Seniors/Graduates (3)

  • G Reed Myers
  • G Jake Lieppert
  • F Ben Moffat

Incoming High School Signees (3)

  • F Keanu Dawes
  • F Gabe Warren
  • G Camp Wagner

Incoming Transfers (3)

  • F Sam Alajiki, Cal
  • G Noah Shelby, Vanderbilt
  • F Anthony Selden, Gardner-Webb

Current Expected Remaining Roster (10)

  • F Andrew Akuchie
  • G Travis Evee
  • F Max Fiedler
  • G Alem Huseinovic
  • G Mekhi Mason
  • F Damion McDowell
  • F Jackson Peakes
  • F George Perkins
  • F Cam Sheffield
  • C Ifeanyi Ufochukwu

Rice Basketball News

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: F Eternity Eguagie commits to Owls

Posted: April 23, 2025

A dynamic JUCO hooper is joining the 2025 Rice basketball recruiting class. Forward Eternity Eguagie has committed to the Owls. Since he arrived at South Main, head coach Rob Lanier has made it abundantly clear he’ll look everywhere for talented playmakers to add to his roster. The most recent addition to the 2025 Rice Basketball […]

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: G Dallas Hobbs commits to Owls

Posted: April 22, 2025

The Transfer Portal remains kind to Rice basketball recruiting efforts. Mount St. Mary’s guard Dallas Hobbs has committed to the Owls. A high-scoring point guard with NCAA Tournament experience is heading to South Main as the most recent addition to the 2025 Rice Basketball recruiting class. Mount St. Mary’s guard Dallas Hobbs has committed to […]

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: G Nick Anderson commits to Owls

Posted: April 19, 2025

Another Transfer Portal addition to the Rice basketball recruiting class has been announced. Prairie View A&M guard Nick Anderson committed to the Owls. Days after the Transfer Portal has opened the 2025 Rice Basketball recruiting class has grown by two. Following the commitment of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi center Stephen Giwa on Thursday, the Owls have […]

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Rice Basketball 2025 Roster Tracker

Posted: April 17, 2025

The Rice basketball roster is going through its usual offseason permutations. Stay tuned here for updates as the Transfer Portal turns. Roster churn has become a part of college sports as we know and Rice basketball is not immune to the ebb and flow of players coming in and out. With the 2024-2025 season in […]

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: C Stephen Giwa commits to Owls

Posted: April 17, 2025

The first Transfer Portal addition of the incoming Rice basketball recruiting class is on board. Texas A&M Corpus Christi center Stephen Giwa has committed to the Owls. Transfer Portal season is upon us, which means new faces for the incoming Rice basketball recruiting class. A few players have already announced their intentions to leave South […]

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Filed Under: Basketball Tagged With: Alem Huseinovic, Andrew Akuchie, Anthony Selden, Ben Moffat, Cameron Sheffield, Camp Wagner, Damion McDowell, Gabe Warren, George Perkins, Ifeanyi Ufochukwu, Jackson Peakes, Jaden Geron, Jake Lieppert, Keanu Dawes, Mason Jones, Max Fiedler, Mekhi Mason, Noah Shelby, Quincy Olivari, Reed Myers, Rice basketball, Sam Alajiki, Seryee Lewis, Travis Evee

Rice Basketball: Still searching for consistency and recurring “A-game”

February 6, 2023 By Matthew Bartlett

An up-and-down Rice Basketball season marches on. Where do the Owls stand and what do they need to do to finish strong?

The story of the 2022-2023 Rice basketball season takes more than two games to tell, but the juxtaposition of the Owls’ dominant win on the road against North Texas on January 19 against a frustrating 10-point loss to the same squad at home 16 days later more or less sums up the kind of year it’s been for the Owls on the court.

At their best, they can hang with the league’s upper tier. But they’re not at their best every night, and therein lies the problem and the questions, many of which remain unanswered.

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Photo credit: Maria Lysaker
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Filed Under: Basketball, Featured, Premium Tagged With: Alem Huseinovic, Andrew Akuchie, Jake Lieppert, Quincy Olivari, Rice basketball, Travis Evee

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