Thursday, January 3
Tudor Fieldhouse
3 p.m.
Rice University
-69, 11 CUSA
73
vs
65
Southern Miss.
-86, 02 CUSA
1
2
F
Southern Miss
42
23
65
Rice
33
40
73
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Second Half Defensive Effort Leads Rice to 73-65 Victory over Southern Miss
1/3/2019 6:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON — Rice held Southern Miss to just 29.0% shooting in the second half to turn an 11-point deficit into a 73-65 victory over Southern Miss, Thursday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"To me it's simple. Our defense in the second half was the difference. We really took a big step forward, I hope, defensively in the second half. We were really locked in. The end of the half could not have gone worse. To deal with that and then to hold (Southern Miss) to (23 points) in the second half. I'm just really proud of our defensive effort. It was a good team effort and a really good team win."
The Story
USM jumped out to an early 16-6 lead as Rice made just two of its first 10 shots. The Owls got things going, making their next six to pull within 25-23 with 8:30 to play in the first half. The teams battled back-and-forth. Rice made it a one-point game on Trey Murphy III's putback dunk. However, Southern Miss closed the half on an 8-0 run to head into the break with a 42-33 lead. USM scored first in the second half to push its lead to 44-33. However, the Owls went on a 24-4 run over the next 11:18 to take a 57-48 lead. Southern Miss responded with eight straight points to pull within 57-56 with 6:42 to play. After trading baskets, Rice pushed its lead back out to eight. USM hit a three with just over four minutes to play to get within five, but Ako Adams' fourth three-pointer of the game with 1:35 to play sealed the game for the Owls.
The Stats
Rice shot 40.4% from the field and 33.3% from three. Southern Miss shot 40.6% from the floor and 42.1% from three. The Owls connected on a season-high 85.0% from the free throw line and outrebounded the Golden Eagles, 42-to-32.
Notes
• Rice improved to 6-9 on the year and 1-1 in Conference USA.
• Rice is 11-9 all-time against Southern Miss and 7-2 in games played in Houston.
• Rice has won the last four home games against USM.
• Southern Miss' 23, second half points were the fewest allowed in a half by Rice this year.
• The Owls connected on 10 three-pointers, the fifth time this year they hit double-figures.
• Rice was called for a season-low seven fouls.
• Ako Adams led Rice with a team-high 16 points and five rebounds.
• Jack Williams recorded his second double-double of the year and the fourth of his career, scoring 12 points and tying a season-high 10 rebounds.
• Chris Mullins scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high six rebounds.
• Trey Murphy III scored 12 points.
Next Up
Rice closes its four-game homestand this Saturday, Jan. 5, when it hosts Louisiana Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be livestreamed by ESPN3.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"To me it's simple. Our defense in the second half was the difference. We really took a big step forward, I hope, defensively in the second half. We were really locked in. The end of the half could not have gone worse. To deal with that and then to hold (Southern Miss) to (23 points) in the second half. I'm just really proud of our defensive effort. It was a good team effort and a really good team win."
The Story
USM jumped out to an early 16-6 lead as Rice made just two of its first 10 shots. The Owls got things going, making their next six to pull within 25-23 with 8:30 to play in the first half. The teams battled back-and-forth. Rice made it a one-point game on Trey Murphy III's putback dunk. However, Southern Miss closed the half on an 8-0 run to head into the break with a 42-33 lead. USM scored first in the second half to push its lead to 44-33. However, the Owls went on a 24-4 run over the next 11:18 to take a 57-48 lead. Southern Miss responded with eight straight points to pull within 57-56 with 6:42 to play. After trading baskets, Rice pushed its lead back out to eight. USM hit a three with just over four minutes to play to get within five, but Ako Adams' fourth three-pointer of the game with 1:35 to play sealed the game for the Owls.
The Stats
Rice shot 40.4% from the field and 33.3% from three. Southern Miss shot 40.6% from the floor and 42.1% from three. The Owls connected on a season-high 85.0% from the free throw line and outrebounded the Golden Eagles, 42-to-32.
Notes
• Rice improved to 6-9 on the year and 1-1 in Conference USA.
• Rice is 11-9 all-time against Southern Miss and 7-2 in games played in Houston.
• Rice has won the last four home games against USM.
• Southern Miss' 23, second half points were the fewest allowed in a half by Rice this year.
• The Owls connected on 10 three-pointers, the fifth time this year they hit double-figures.
• Rice was called for a season-low seven fouls.
• Ako Adams led Rice with a team-high 16 points and five rebounds.
• Jack Williams recorded his second double-double of the year and the fourth of his career, scoring 12 points and tying a season-high 10 rebounds.
• Chris Mullins scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high six rebounds.
• Trey Murphy III scored 12 points.
Next Up
Rice closes its four-game homestand this Saturday, Jan. 5, when it hosts Louisiana Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be livestreamed by ESPN3.
Team Stats
USM
RICE
FG%
.406
.404
3FG%
.421
.333
FT%
.714
.850
RB
32
42
TO
10
12
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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