Rice University
2-5
UTSA
3-3
Rice Falls to UTSA
12/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2008
Final Stats
UTSA vs. Rice Game Book in PDF Format 
HOUSTON - UTSA senior guard Joey Shank matched a career high with 26 points and Omar Johnson set a new career mark with 21 as the Roadrunners topped Rice, 78-75, in Tudor Fieldhouse Thursday night.
With the win, UTSA improved to 3-3 while Rice fell to 2-5.
Shank, who had come off the bench in UTSA's first four contests of the year, started his second straight game and made five, first-half three-pointers as the Roadrunners built as much as a 10-point, first-half lead and led 43-39 at intermission.
Rice would come back in the second half, regaining the lead, 53-51, on a Lucas Kuipers layup with 15:02 to play. Kuipers' bucket was part of a 7-0 Rice run in which the Owls scored three straight field goals following offensive rebounds.
For the game, Rice outrebounded UTSA 34-26 and also shot 57 percent compared to the Roadrunners' 47 percent.
But a stretch in which Rice turned the ball over three times and missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw shooting situation would allow UTSA to regain the lead for good.
Rice had a chance to build on a 66-62 lead with just over six minutes to play. Shank came up with a steal and made a pass ahead to Johnson for a fastbreak layup to cut the Owls' lead to two points. Then a missed free throw led to a quick three-pointer by Shank and the Roadrunners would never trail again.
Rice turned the ball over their next two times down the court and Johnson's three-pointer with 4:26 to play gave UTSA a 70-66 lead.
In the final minutes, Shank was fouled while shooting a three-pointer and sank three free throws to give the Roadrunners a 76-70 lead with 1:58 to play. Rice would cut the lead in half on a Bryan Beasley three-pointer at the other end. Following a UTSA turnover, Beasley drove inside for a layup to cut the margin to one, 76-75 with 34 seconds to play.
Trailing by a point, the Owls would have an opportunity to take the lead following an errant shot by UTSA's Devin Gibson. However, Rice would turn the ball over again and Travis Gabbidon knocked down two free throws to give UTSA a 78-75 lead with three seconds to play.
Rice turned the ball over 19 times during the night, leading to 22 UTSA points.
Cory Pflieger scored a career-high 21 points in a losing effort for the Owls while Kuipers finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Beasley scored 13 points, hitting on 3-of-4 three-point shots and 5-of-6 overall from the field.
Rice continues to search for its first win in newly renovated Tudor Fieldhouse. The Owls play host to Texas State Saturday afternoon at three.
Texas State is 3-3 on the year following a 110-65 win over Southwestern Assemblies of God University on Wednesday. Senior guard Brent Benson leads the Bobcats, averaging 19.7 points per game. Brandon Bush, a high school teammate of Rice senior guard Rodney Foster at Katy Mayde Creek High School, is averaging 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds.
UTSA continues a four-game road stretch Dec. 18 when the Roadrunners travel to Texas-Pan American.
