Rice University
-77, 10 CUSA
Houston
-94, 01 CUSA
Rice Wins Fourth Straight Over Houston, 71-62
1/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2006
Houston - Morris Almond and Patrick Britton each posted their first-ever double-double to lead the Rice Owls over Houston, 71-62, in front of 3,664 fans in Autry Court. Almond posted a game-high 24 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds, while Britton had career-highs in points (17) and rebounds (14, game-high). The victory was the fourth-straight for the Owls over Houston and they have now won five of the last six games vs. UH.
Rice forged an early 10-2 lead and held the Cougars scoreless for over seven minutes to start the game. UH (9-4, 0-1) did not get on the board until 12:32 on a Sergio de Randamie basket. The Cougars then went on a 12-5 run as Lanny Smith hit two treys. Houston eventually took its first and only lead of the game on another Smith three-pointer to give UH a 22-21 lead. Lamar Roberson then pushed the lead to three on a basket at 4:56, before the Owls outscored the Cougars 13-7 to close the half with a 34-31 lead.
The Owls started the second-half strong outscoring UH 6-2 for a 40-33 lead. The lead closed to 46-43 as the Cougars' Corey Bloom knocked in one of his three three-pointers. Morris Almond then scored on a lay-up and Rodney Foster hit a jumper to give the Owls some breathing room. Ramon Dyer hit a trey to bring UH close to within four at 66-61 with 2:00 to play. But, Rice went on to outscore Houston 6-1 in those final two minutes.
Rice's 2-3 zone gave Houston problems and forced them to heave an eye-popping 38 three-point attempts. UH made only 11 of them and shot just 28.8 percent beyond the arc and 30.6 percent for the game from the field. Lanny Smith kept Houston close by making 5-10 three-pointers as he finished with 21 points. The Rice defense also did a number on the league's leading scorer, Oliver Lafayette. Lafayette entered the game averaging 19.2 ppg, but he went 0-10 from the field and did not score until 1:32 left in the game by making one of two free throws.
Rice dominated the boards outrebounding the Cougars 45-33. The Owls also made 53 percent of their shots for the game include a hefty 65 percent in the second-half. Lorenzo Williams also scored 14 points and dished out 9 assists as he continually broke Houston's defensive pressure. The Owls also made 15-17 free throws including their first 14 attempts.
Rice (7-7, 0-1) now plays at Tulane on Saturday at 7 pm at Fogelman Arena on the Tulane campus.
