Rice University
15-11, 6-5
SMU
11-14, 2-8
Rice Defeats SMU, 43-39
2/11/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2012
Final Stats
SMU v Rice Game Book 
HOUSTON - Tamir Jackson scored a game-high 12 points and Arsalan Kazemi tied a Conference USA career record with his 42nd double-double as the Owls defeated SMU 43-39 in Tudor Fieldhouse Saturday.
Rice won its second straight game this week to improve to 15-11 overall and 6-5 in conference play but Saturday's victory would not come easy.
The Owls failed to make a field goal in the final 9:48 of the game after a Jackson three-pointer gave Rice a 39-30 lead.. SMU would close the gap to as few as three points when Shawn Williams sank a three-pointer to narrow the Owls' lead to 40-37 with 5:36 to play.
At the other end of the floor, Connor Frizzelle would miss a three-pointer near the end of the shot clock but Jackson grabbed the offensive board and Kazemi was fouled on a drive to the basket. The junior would make both of his free throws to extend the lead back to five, 42-37, with 4:40 left.
Kazemi's free throws marked the Owls' only second chance points of the game. Rice outrebounded SMU 33-29 and came down with eight of the final 12 boards in the contest.
In the final minutes Rice would turn the ball over on three straight possessions but SMU could not answer, missing four consecutive shots before Ryan Manuel's jumper with 23 seconds to play pulled the Mustangs back to within three, 42-39.
Following an SMU timeout, the Mustangs fouled Jackson after an inbounds play. The junior guard would sink the first of two free throw attempts to make it a two-possession game. He would also come up with a steal in the final seconds and a fastbreak play culminated in an offensive foul that left SMU needing four points in the last six seconds. The Mustangs' final possession ended in a missed three-point attempt.
The Owls' 43 points scored was the fewest in a win since beating Texas A&M 43-42 on Feb. 4, 1984. It was also the fewest points in a series win over SMU since beating the Mustangs 42-40 on Jan. 25, 1982.
Jackson was 4-for-8 from the field, led Rice with four assists, had four rebounds and two steals.
Kazemi, scored nine of his 11 points in the second half. He also finished with 10 boards for his 15th double-double of the season, his first since Jan. 14. He had missed a game with a knee injury, and heading into the SMU game, had gone six straight games played without a double-figure rebounding night.
With his performance against SMU, Kazemi tied former Memphis star Kelly Wise who had 42 career double doubles during his career (1999-2002).
In addition to the double-double, Kazemi also had a season-high five steals. He was 3-for-5 from the field and knocked down 5-of-7 free throw attempts.
Rice shot 32.6 percent from the field on the night but held the Mustangs to 32.5 percent shooting (13-of-14).
SMU senior Robert Nyakundi, who entered the game averaging a team-leading 15.5 points per game and 2.7 three-pointers, was held to nine points. He was 0-for-4 from behind the three-point arc.
Shawn Williams scored a team-high 11 points for the Mustangs and also had eight rebounds as well as two blocks.
SMU, which fell to 11-14 and 2-8, played without the services of sophomore point guard Jeremiah Samarrippas who did not dress after suffering a sprained ankle during practice on Friday. Samarrippas had started the previous 24 games for SMU and was averaging 4.3 assists an outing.
Rice does not play a midweek game in the coming week. The Owls' next contest comes on the road Saturday when they travel to Tulsa. SMU plays host to UAB Wednesday to begin a three-game homestand.
