Saturday, November 23
Nassau, Bahamas
4 p.m.
Rice University
5-3
59
vs
71
Liberty
7-0
1
2
F
Rice
20
39
59
Liberty Flames
35
36
71
Comeback Falls Short as Men’s Basketball Falls to Liberty, 71-59
11/23/2019 7:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NASSAU, Bahamas — Rice cut a 25-point second half deficit to eight points, but in the end it was not enough as it fell to Liberty, 71-59, in the semifinals of the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase, Saturday afternoon.
The Story
After Robert Martin started the game with a three-pointer, Liberty went on a 10-0 run to take a 10-3 lead five minutes into the game. Rice picked up its play, scoring eight of the next 10 points. After a Liberty basket, Zach Crisler made his first career three-pointer as Rice scored six of the next nine points, capped off by Chris Mullins' jumper that gave Rice an 18-17 lead with 11:01 to play. However, the Owls went cold, missing 11 of its final 12 shots as Liberty closed the half on an 18-2 run to take a 35-20 lead at the break. The Flames scored the first seven points of the second half to take its largest lead of the game, 45-20, just 2:14 into the half. However, Rice began to chip away. It went on an 11-2 run but Liberty answered with a 9-3 run to push its lead back to 20. Drew Peterson and Chris Mullins then bookended a 9-0 Rice run with a pair of threes as Rice cut the deficit to 54-43 with 7:43 to play. Liberty pushed it back to 15, but an Ako Adams layup followed by a Martin three-pointer made it a 10-point game. But the game stayed between 10 and 12 points until Adams made three free throws with 32 seconds left to make it an eight-point game. Rice would get no closer.
The Stats
Rice shot 35.1% from the field and 32.3% from three. Liberty connected on 48.1% from the floor but just 31.8% from three. Rice outrebounded the Flames, 36-to-34 and connected on 75.0% from the free throw line.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"I thought our guys really battled. Against (Liberty), we just dug too big a hole. Twenty-five points is a lot, and to get it back to 10 and have the ball two possessions in a row. They really fought. I'm really proud of how tough they stayed. We got a few stops that we needed, but it was just too big of a hole."
Notes
• Rice fell to 5-3 on the year.
• This was the first-ever meeting between Rice and Liberty.
• Rice fell to 3-2 all-time against the Atlantic Sun Conference.
• Robert Martin scored a game-high 19 points. He connected on 4-of-7 from three.
• Chris Mullins scored seven points and grabbed a season-high seven rebounds.
• Zach Crisler connected on his first two career three-pointers. He finished with six points.
Next Up
Rice will play either East Carolina or UMKC tomorrow in the third-place game of the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will be livestreamed by FloHoops.
The Story
After Robert Martin started the game with a three-pointer, Liberty went on a 10-0 run to take a 10-3 lead five minutes into the game. Rice picked up its play, scoring eight of the next 10 points. After a Liberty basket, Zach Crisler made his first career three-pointer as Rice scored six of the next nine points, capped off by Chris Mullins' jumper that gave Rice an 18-17 lead with 11:01 to play. However, the Owls went cold, missing 11 of its final 12 shots as Liberty closed the half on an 18-2 run to take a 35-20 lead at the break. The Flames scored the first seven points of the second half to take its largest lead of the game, 45-20, just 2:14 into the half. However, Rice began to chip away. It went on an 11-2 run but Liberty answered with a 9-3 run to push its lead back to 20. Drew Peterson and Chris Mullins then bookended a 9-0 Rice run with a pair of threes as Rice cut the deficit to 54-43 with 7:43 to play. Liberty pushed it back to 15, but an Ako Adams layup followed by a Martin three-pointer made it a 10-point game. But the game stayed between 10 and 12 points until Adams made three free throws with 32 seconds left to make it an eight-point game. Rice would get no closer.
The Stats
Rice shot 35.1% from the field and 32.3% from three. Liberty connected on 48.1% from the floor but just 31.8% from three. Rice outrebounded the Flames, 36-to-34 and connected on 75.0% from the free throw line.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"I thought our guys really battled. Against (Liberty), we just dug too big a hole. Twenty-five points is a lot, and to get it back to 10 and have the ball two possessions in a row. They really fought. I'm really proud of how tough they stayed. We got a few stops that we needed, but it was just too big of a hole."
Notes
• Rice fell to 5-3 on the year.
• This was the first-ever meeting between Rice and Liberty.
• Rice fell to 3-2 all-time against the Atlantic Sun Conference.
• Robert Martin scored a game-high 19 points. He connected on 4-of-7 from three.
• Chris Mullins scored seven points and grabbed a season-high seven rebounds.
• Zach Crisler connected on his first two career three-pointers. He finished with six points.
Next Up
Rice will play either East Carolina or UMKC tomorrow in the third-place game of the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will be livestreamed by FloHoops.
Team Stats
RICE
LIB
FG%
.351
.473
3FG%
.281
.304
FT%
.714
.667
RB
35
35
TO
13
10
STL
3
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG/F
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