Rice University
3-4
#2 Texas
8-0
Rice Defeated by Second-Ranked Texas 85-58
12/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2005
HOUSTON (AP) - Brad Buckman had 17 points and 11 rebounds and LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 10 boards on Monday night as second-ranked Texas beat Rice 85-58 at the Toyota Center.
Daniel Gibson, Houston's all-time prep scorer at Jones High School, had 15 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Longhorns (8-0), who meet top-ranked Duke at East Rutherford, N.J. on Saturday.
Texas, off to its best start since the 1981-82 team won its first 14 games, has averaged a 32-point victory margin in its last four victories.
The bigger, faster Longhorns jumped to an early lead against the Owls (3-4), who were coming off a 96-94 triple-overtime win over Utah.
Texas committed three early turnovers, then launched a 14-0 run to build a 23-4 lead eight minutes into the game.
The Owls missed their first nine shots and 10 of their first 12, while the Longhorns hit five of six shots after starting 4-for-10.
The 6-foot-10, 237-pound Aldridge had a putback and two free throws early in the run. He quickly got three fouls on J.R. Harrison, and Rice's leading scorer went to the bench with 13:20 left in the half.
Gibson, with his parents watching from the stands, got off to a shaky start, missing his first three shots. If he was nervous, he quickly settled down, making a three-pointer and a pull-up jumper near the end of the scoring spurt.
Aleks Perka ended the Owls' four-minute drought with a layup, but J.D. Lewis swished a 3-pointer 90 seconds later to keep the Longhorns in control.
Aldridge and Gibson each had 13 points at halftime as Texas took a 46-26 lead.
Morris Almond had 17 points for Rice, which shot 35 percent (21-of-60) and was outrebounded 50-39.
The former Southwest Conference rivals were meeting for the first time since the 1995-96 season. Texas has won nine of the last 10 meetings.
Gibson left the game to mild applause with 3:18 remaining. He turned from the bench, smiled and nodded at friends as the final minutes ticked away.
Gibson was coming off a career-high 29 points in the Longhorns' 93-55 win over Texas-Arlington on Saturday.
