Rice University
9-6
TCU
9-5
TCU Holds Off Rice
1/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2012
Final Stats
Rice v TCU Game Book 
FORT WORTH - TCU's Amric Fields broke the eighth tie of the game with a three-pointer with 1:31 to play and later added a pair at the line as the Horned Frogs defeated Rice 78-74 Wednesday in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
The game was the final nonconference contest for Rice which fell to 9-6 heading into the Conference USA opener Saturday when they play host to Marshall.
Rice enjoyed a 10-point lead early in the game and had a six-point advantage with 5:10 to play.
The Owls had held TCU's leading scorer, Hank Thorns, without a field goal over his first seven shot attempts before the senior made a three-pointer to cut the Rice lead in half, 69-66 with 4:38 left. Rice would miss its next two shots as well as the front and of a one-and-one opportunity at the line before Nate Butler's three tied the game at 69-69 with 2:32 to play.
After a missed three-point attempt by the Owls, Fields connected on his three to give the Horned Frogs the lead for good. And after Fields converted his two free throws in the final minute, Thorns also made a pair at the line to extend the Horned Frogs' lead to seven.
Rice trailed 33-28 at the break but rallied to regain the lead, 44-43 on a three-pointer by Tamir Jackson with 14:57 to play.
Jackson would later help break a 47-47 tie when he found Arsalan Kazemi speeding toward the basket for his fourth dunk of the game. After a missed three-pointer by Fields, Kazemi converted two free throws at the other end of the floor to give the Owls a 51-47 lead with 12:19 to play. Following an offensive foul on TCU, Rice extended its lead back to six when Dylan Ennis tipped in a missed jumper by Connor Frizzelle.
Rice would maintain the lead until Butler's trey with less than three minutes to play tied the score.
Ennis led Rice with a career-high 18 points. Kazemi was held to three points and four rebounds in the first half before finishing with 17 points and 14 rebounds for his eighth straight double-double.
Frizzelle scored 10 of the Owls' first 15 points of the game en route to a 14-point game. Jackson finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
TCU scored 11 first-half points off seven Rice turnovers and got back into the game with full-court pressure. Down 20-10, the Horned Frogs scored eight unanswered points to make it a one-possession game. And trailing 24-20, TCU scored six straight points to regain its first lead since early in the game.
Kyan Anderson scored on a jumper, Adrick McKinney converted a fastbreak layup and Fields' jumper after a Rice missed three put the Horned Frogs out in front 26-24.
Rice went 1-for-2 on its last two trips to the free throw line of the half, cutting a TCU lead to 30-28 but after a Rice turnover trying to get out on the break following a TCU turnover, the Horned Frogs held for a final shot and Fields nailed a three-pointer ahead of the halftime buzzer. Fields' final shot was the only three of the half for the Horned Frogs who missed their first 10 shots from behind the arc.
The Owls converted on six of their first 12 field goal attempts but closed the half by making just four of their final 14 shots in the first period.
Rice shot 52 percent for the second half and both teams finished shooting 28-of-60 from the field (46.7 percent). TCU was 15-of-20 at the free throw line while the Owls converted on 10-of-17 attempts.
