Rice University
0-1
Portland State
1-0
Rice Falls in Season Opener
11/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2008
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HOUSTON -- Despite shooting 57 percent from the field, turning the ball over just six times and playing in front of a boisterous home crowd to open Tudor Fieldhouse, Rice suffered a 78-74 loss to Portland State in both teams' season opener Saturday.
In addition to being the first men's contest played in the newly renovated arena, Ben Braun made his coaching debut at Rice.
But after trailing 36-33 at halftime, Portland State's Jeremiah Dominguez scored 17 of his game-high 24 points in the second period to help lead the Vikings to a season-opening victory.
Midway through the second period Portland State utilized a 9-2 run, capped by junior guard Dominic Waters' three-pointer to stretch out a 65-57 lead with 8:45 to play. Later in the period, Jamie Jones' layup with 3:12 left allowed the Vikings to extend the lead to double figures, 73-63.
Jones' basket came off an offensive rebound by Dominguez.
The Owls struggled on the glass and were outrebounded 38-27. Portland State grabbed 17 offensive boards that led to 15 second-chance points.
Still, Rice narrowed the gap in the final minutes.
Cory Pflieger drove baseline for a layup and after a missed three-pointer by Dominguez, sophomore transfer Trey Stanton converted a three-point play with 2:09 to play to cut the Vikings' lead to 73-68. After a PSU turnover, Rice freshman starting point guard Connor Frizzelle connected on a pullup jumper to narrow the gap to 73-70. But at the other end, Dominguez, the reining Big Sky Conference Player of the Year, drilled a three-pointer to make it a two-possession game.
Dominguez was 7-for-12 from the field and made 4-of-6 three-pointers on the day. The senior was held to 2-for-6 shooting in the first half as the Vikings managed to make just 13-of-37 shots from the field.
After a Rice missed shot in the final minute, Waters made one of two free throws before Owl senior guard Rodney Foster converted a pair of free throws with 20 seconds to play. After two missed free throws by Dominguez, Foster found Stanton open at the top of the key for a long-range field goal that narrowed the lead to 77-74 with nine seconds to play. A year ago, the shot would have been a three-pointer. This season the three-point line has been extended one foot to 20-9 and Stanton's foot was ruled on the line.
Waters, who finished with 18 points, made the second of two free throw attempts with seven seconds to play to give the Vikings a four-point lead.
Pflieger led Rice with 17 points while Aleks Perka scored 15 and pulled down a team-leading nine rebounds. Stanton added 14 points for the Owls. Foster finished with eight points and had a career-high nine assists in the game.
Jones added a double-double for Portland State, scoring 13 points and pulling down 13 rebounds.
Rice returns to action next Thursday when it opens play against Cal Poly at the Basketball Travelers Invitational in Provo, Utah. The Owls will also play BYU and North Florida in the multi-team tournament. Portland State opens at home Tuesday against Portland.
