Thursday, January 24
Tudor Fieldhouse
7 p.m.
Rice University
-812, 34 CUSA
79
vs
68
Middle Tennessee State
-515, 25 CUSA
1
2
F
Middle Tennessee
34
34
68
Rice
30
49
79
Photo by: Maria Lysaker - Rice Athletics
Strong Second Half Lifts Rice Over Middle Tennessee, 79-68
1/24/2019 11:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON — Rice used a 19-3 run midway through the second half to defeat Middle Tennessee, 79-68, Thursday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"I want to say how proud I am of our guys. I don't know too many teams in my 20 years of coaching that have gone through what we went through the last two Saturdays and have been as resilient, as positive and as focused as they were this week in practice. It sure makes me really proud to be their coach. The second half, we showed some maturity. We showed some growth. We talked about how all you can do from those two games is learn. If you don't learn, then it's just a complete failure and a complete waste of time. We learned and tonight we applied it. The guys really made plays in the second half and that was fun to watch."
The Story
Rice made just one of its first seven shots as Middle Tennessee jumped out to a 6-2 lead. But the Owls responded, making five of their next seven shots to go on a 12-3 run to lead 14-9. After trading baskets, MTSU scored seven of the next nine points to tie the game at 18. The game went back-and-forth over the next two and a half minutes. But, with Rice leading 25-22, the Owls went cold as the Blue Raiders went on a 12-2 run to take their largest lead of the half before Chris Mullins' steal and layup sent Rice into halftime trailing 34-30. Middle Tennessee pushed its lead to eight in the first three minutes of the second half. But, the Owls went on a 19-3 run over the next 6:20 to take an eight-point lead. MTSU would not go away as it scored nine straight points to take a 55-54 lead with 7:50 to play. But, Trey Murphy III's three-pointer gave Rice the lead for good, as the Owls scored 16 straight points to put the game away.
The Stats
Rice shot 46.3% from the field and 36.4% from three. The Owls held Middle Tennessee to just 40.0% from the floor and 30.4% from three. Rice also outrebounded the Blue Raiders, 39-to-38. Rice was also 21-of-32 from the free throw line while MTSU was just 9-of-14.
Notes
• Rice improved to 8-12 on the year and 3-4 in Conference USA.
• Rice is 3-6 all-time against Middle Tennessee and 3-2 in games played in Houston.
• The victory was Rice's first over the Blue Raiders since 2015, snapping a three-game losing streak.
• Rice has won three straight conference home games for the first time since 2015-16.
• Chris Mullins led the Owls with 19 points, four rebounds and three steals while tying a career-high with three, three-pointers.
• Trey Murphy III tied career-highs with 18 points and four three-pointers, while going a career-best six-for-six from the free throw line.
• Jack Williams scored 13 points.
• Robert Martin led the Owls with 10 rebounds. It was his third double-figure rebounding game this year.
• Quentin Millora-Brown added eight points, eight rebounds and tied a career-high with three blocks.
• Millora-Brown now has 21 blocks on the year, tying him for eighth-place on the school freshman list.
Next Up
Rice closes its homestand this Saturday, Jan. 26, when it hosts UAB. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be live streamed on ESPN+.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"I want to say how proud I am of our guys. I don't know too many teams in my 20 years of coaching that have gone through what we went through the last two Saturdays and have been as resilient, as positive and as focused as they were this week in practice. It sure makes me really proud to be their coach. The second half, we showed some maturity. We showed some growth. We talked about how all you can do from those two games is learn. If you don't learn, then it's just a complete failure and a complete waste of time. We learned and tonight we applied it. The guys really made plays in the second half and that was fun to watch."
The Story
Rice made just one of its first seven shots as Middle Tennessee jumped out to a 6-2 lead. But the Owls responded, making five of their next seven shots to go on a 12-3 run to lead 14-9. After trading baskets, MTSU scored seven of the next nine points to tie the game at 18. The game went back-and-forth over the next two and a half minutes. But, with Rice leading 25-22, the Owls went cold as the Blue Raiders went on a 12-2 run to take their largest lead of the half before Chris Mullins' steal and layup sent Rice into halftime trailing 34-30. Middle Tennessee pushed its lead to eight in the first three minutes of the second half. But, the Owls went on a 19-3 run over the next 6:20 to take an eight-point lead. MTSU would not go away as it scored nine straight points to take a 55-54 lead with 7:50 to play. But, Trey Murphy III's three-pointer gave Rice the lead for good, as the Owls scored 16 straight points to put the game away.
The Stats
Rice shot 46.3% from the field and 36.4% from three. The Owls held Middle Tennessee to just 40.0% from the floor and 30.4% from three. Rice also outrebounded the Blue Raiders, 39-to-38. Rice was also 21-of-32 from the free throw line while MTSU was just 9-of-14.
Notes
• Rice improved to 8-12 on the year and 3-4 in Conference USA.
• Rice is 3-6 all-time against Middle Tennessee and 3-2 in games played in Houston.
• The victory was Rice's first over the Blue Raiders since 2015, snapping a three-game losing streak.
• Rice has won three straight conference home games for the first time since 2015-16.
• Chris Mullins led the Owls with 19 points, four rebounds and three steals while tying a career-high with three, three-pointers.
• Trey Murphy III tied career-highs with 18 points and four three-pointers, while going a career-best six-for-six from the free throw line.
• Jack Williams scored 13 points.
• Robert Martin led the Owls with 10 rebounds. It was his third double-figure rebounding game this year.
• Quentin Millora-Brown added eight points, eight rebounds and tied a career-high with three blocks.
• Millora-Brown now has 21 blocks on the year, tying him for eighth-place on the school freshman list.
Next Up
Rice closes its homestand this Saturday, Jan. 26, when it hosts UAB. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be live streamed on ESPN+.
Team Stats
MT
RICE
FG%
.400
.463
3FG%
.304
.364
FT%
.643
.656
RB
38
39
TO
13
10
STL
3
8
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
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