Rice Falls To Oregon In OT, 79-73
11/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2006
HOUSTON (AP) - Oregon senior guard Aaron Brooks scored six of his game-high 30 points in overtime to rally the Ducks to a 79-73 win over Rice Monday night.
The Owls (2-3) led 65-57 with 56 seconds left in regulation, but Oregon freshman guard Tajuan Porter made two 3-pointers and Brooks added another to tie the game at 66-66 and force overtime.
After Rice's Morris Almond scored the first basket of the extra period, Oregon (5-0) went on a 7-0 run to open a 73-68 lead it wouldn't relinquish. Duck junior forward Maarty Leunen put in a follow shot and added a 3-pointer in that decisive spurt.
The Owls, who were led by Almond's 28 points, held a 60-50 lead with 1:43 left in regulation before watching it quickly disappear.
Brooks made 8 of 11 shots from the field in the second half when he scored 22 points. Rice hurt itself at the free throw line in the final 20 minutes, making only 12 of 24 attempts.
The biggest lead for either team in the first half came when Rice sophomore guard Cory Pflieger hit a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to give the Owls a 31-24 lead.
The Ducks trimmed the deficit to three by halftime when Oregon junior Bryce Taylor answered with a 3-pointer from the corner to pull the Ducks within 31-27.
Oregon, picked to finish fourth this year in the PAC-10 media poll, made just eight of 26 shots from the field in the first 20 minutes.
Almond, in his last three games, has scored 31 (vs. Colorado State), 38 (vs. North Texas), and 28 vs. Oregon for a 32.3 average. Almond's five-game scoring average is at 26.8 ppg and he sports a team leading 6.2 rebounding average.
The Owls now play at Utah on Saturday, November 25 at Utah. Game is set for 7 pm (Central).
