Rice University
-611, 04 CUSA
Memphis
-134, 30 CUSA
Owls' Fight Doesn't Die, But Memphis Prevails 80-68
1/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 16, 2010
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By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
Rice coach Ben Braun has established the credentials for the Owls to heed the talking point from every postgame chat in the locker room, but on Saturday night his message should have resonated to greater depths.
Against Memphis, which has gone nearly four years without a loss against a Conference USA opponent, the Owls once again flashed their potential. The Tigers sprinted out of the gate only for the Owls to claw back. Memphis guard Elliot Williams sliced and diced their defense, but the Owls didn't crater. The Tigers pushed to a comfortable lead only to discover that these Owls would scrap until the final buzzer. On this night, Memphis would have to earn its 64th consecutive C-USA victory.
The Tigers did, claiming an 80-68 decision at Tudor Fieldhouse, but it was the Owls' impressive effort that left everyone familiar with their travails wondering aloud: Why can't they perform like this every game?
"Memphis kept making run after run after run, and they're trying to separate. Our guys kept battling," Braun said. "It's really a positive for our team. A lot of teams would have been gone after what they did, but our team never backed down. We never blinked. We kept battling back, we kept fighting back, and that's got to be the way we play all the time whether it's Tulane (or) whether it's Memphis. Sometimes it's human nature to say, `Hey, it's Memphis,' and you get going. You have to play that way (consistently)."
Reviving the determination they displayed against No. 3 Texas in a 77-59 home loss on Nov. 29, the Owls (6-11, 0-4 C-USA) rallied from a trio of eight-point deficits to close to within 22-21 when Arsalan Kazemi converted a reverse layup with 8:00 remaining in the first half. The Tigers (13-4, 3-0) reclaimed their eight-point advantage when Willie Kemp drained a 3-pointer for a 32-24 lead with 4:59 left, and Memphis extended to a 47-34 advantage when Roburt Sallie followed Williams' trey 65 seconds earlier with a 3 at the 17:54 mark of the second half. The Owls, looking nothing like the squad that lost at Lamar and lugged a four-game skid into their second conference home contest, responded.
Trey Stanton (18 points, seven rebounds) scored on consecutive possessions. Kazemi came up with a steal that led to a Tamir Jackson 3, then added a follow dunk before Lucas Kuipers drained a deep jumper that pulled the Owls to within 51-47 and forced a Memphis timeout.
But Williams, a Duke transfer in his first season with his hometown program, maintained his dominant pace by scoring 10 consecutive Memphis points to help the Tigers reestablish control at 66-54. His teammates helped shoulder the load down the stretch, but Williams finished with 32 points, four assists, three steals and several kudos.
"He's a great player, and he's definitely hard to guard," Stanton said of Williams. "It's always hard having a guy like that to play against, but we were up to the challenge. I don't know. I guess he got the better of us."
Added Braun: "My goodness, how good is he? If anybody was feeling sorry for Memphis that they didn't have the same (caliber) guys, they've got some players and Elliot Williams is one of them. What a great effort on his behalf. He got to the line, he has a knack, and he was tough."
The Owls got to the line 30 times and converted 24 free throws. They finished plus-7 in rebounds, and were guilty of only 13 turnovers against Memphis' pressure. However, Rice scored only 12 second-chance points despite corralling 18 offensive rebounds, leaving several shots in the paint short of the rim or failing to draw contact against Memphis' defenders. The Owls finished just 4-of-13 from behind the arc, and despite their gumption - Kazemi had 15 points, 11 rebounds and four steals in 37 exhaustive minutes - could not complete their rallies.
"I guess we played really good this game. It was a lot of effort from our guys," Kazemi said. "I guess if we played like this the last four games we lost, we should have beaten all the teams we played. But, it's gone now.
"I told them to put this effort (out) every day so we can get some wins."
Memphis' 64 consecutive conference victories matches the NCAA mark set by Kentucky against the Southeastern Conference (1945-50). Memphis also has an NCAA-record 52 consecutive regular-season league wins.
