Sunday, December 29
Houston, TX
2 p.m.
Rice University
-85,00 CUSA
61
vs
75
Sam Houston State
9-4,2-0Southlan
1
2
F
Sam Houston St.
36
39
75
Rice
29
32
61
Photo by: © Maria Lysaker
Rice Drops Non-Conference Finale to Sam Houston State
12/29/2019 5:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON — Rice was held to just 33.9% from the floor as the Owls dropped their non-conference finale to Sam Houston State, 75-61, Sunday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.
How it Happened
The teams struggled out of the gate, trading baskets through the first six minutes. With Sam Houston State holding a 10-7 lead, Rice went on an 8-0 run over the next 3:16, capped off by Josh Parrish's three-point play to give Rice its largest lead of the game, 15-10. The Bearkats answered with a 10-2 run, but a Robert Martin three-pointer followed by seven straight points from Payton Moore gave the Owls a 10-3 run and a 27-23 lead with 4:10 to play in the first half. However, Rice made just one of its final five shots while turning the ball over four times as SHSU closed the half on a 13-2 run to take a 36-29 lead at the break.
Sam Houston State kept it up in the second half, scoring the first five points and nine of the first 12. The teams then traded baskets over the next four minutes. Rice scored six of the next eight points to pull within 11, but a Bearkat three-pointer followed by a jumper gave SHSU its largest lead of the game, 59-43, midway through the second half. Rice would get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
The Stats
Rice was held to just 33.9% from the field and 22.6% from three. Sam Houston State connected on 50.8% from the floor 35.3% from three. SHSU outrebounded the Owls, 40-to-34 and outscored them in the paint, 34-to-26.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"I'd like to give Sam Houston State a lot of credit. I thought they played a very good game. I thought they dominated us the last 24 minutes of the game. Obviously, (it was) a disappointing performance by our guys. We obviously did not play our best. If you don't play your best against a very good team, those are the results you usually get. It's my job to figure out why, get the answers, get back to work and help our guys be in better position as we start league play on Thursday at Marshall. We'll be excited to get started with that and hopefully learn from this one, because that was a very good team that outplayed us and deserved to win."
Notes
• Rice fell to 8-5 on the year.
• Rice dropped to 35-11 all-time against Sam Houston State.
• Rice is 40-34 against the Southland Conference.
• Chris Mullins tied a season-high with 13 points. It was his sixth double-figure scoring game this year.
• Payton Moore scored 11 points and had three steals. It was his fourth double-figure scoring game this year.
• Trey Murphy III scored 11 points, his eighth double-figure scoring game this year.
• Robert Martin grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
• With one three-pointer, Ako Adams now has 176 career threes, tying Adam Peakes (1991-95) for fourth-place on the Rice all-time list.
• Adams also had a team-high three assists, giving him 256 career to tie Marcus Jackson (2013-17) for 16th-place on the school all-time list.
Next Up
Rice begins its Conference USA schedule this Thursday, Jan. 2, when it travels to Huntington, W.V., to face Marshall. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be livestreamed by the ESPN+.
How it Happened
The teams struggled out of the gate, trading baskets through the first six minutes. With Sam Houston State holding a 10-7 lead, Rice went on an 8-0 run over the next 3:16, capped off by Josh Parrish's three-point play to give Rice its largest lead of the game, 15-10. The Bearkats answered with a 10-2 run, but a Robert Martin three-pointer followed by seven straight points from Payton Moore gave the Owls a 10-3 run and a 27-23 lead with 4:10 to play in the first half. However, Rice made just one of its final five shots while turning the ball over four times as SHSU closed the half on a 13-2 run to take a 36-29 lead at the break.
Sam Houston State kept it up in the second half, scoring the first five points and nine of the first 12. The teams then traded baskets over the next four minutes. Rice scored six of the next eight points to pull within 11, but a Bearkat three-pointer followed by a jumper gave SHSU its largest lead of the game, 59-43, midway through the second half. Rice would get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
The Stats
Rice was held to just 33.9% from the field and 22.6% from three. Sam Houston State connected on 50.8% from the floor 35.3% from three. SHSU outrebounded the Owls, 40-to-34 and outscored them in the paint, 34-to-26.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"I'd like to give Sam Houston State a lot of credit. I thought they played a very good game. I thought they dominated us the last 24 minutes of the game. Obviously, (it was) a disappointing performance by our guys. We obviously did not play our best. If you don't play your best against a very good team, those are the results you usually get. It's my job to figure out why, get the answers, get back to work and help our guys be in better position as we start league play on Thursday at Marshall. We'll be excited to get started with that and hopefully learn from this one, because that was a very good team that outplayed us and deserved to win."
Notes
• Rice fell to 8-5 on the year.
• Rice dropped to 35-11 all-time against Sam Houston State.
• Rice is 40-34 against the Southland Conference.
• Chris Mullins tied a season-high with 13 points. It was his sixth double-figure scoring game this year.
• Payton Moore scored 11 points and had three steals. It was his fourth double-figure scoring game this year.
• Trey Murphy III scored 11 points, his eighth double-figure scoring game this year.
• Robert Martin grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
• With one three-pointer, Ako Adams now has 176 career threes, tying Adam Peakes (1991-95) for fourth-place on the Rice all-time list.
• Adams also had a team-high three assists, giving him 256 career to tie Marcus Jackson (2013-17) for 16th-place on the school all-time list.
Next Up
Rice begins its Conference USA schedule this Thursday, Jan. 2, when it travels to Huntington, W.V., to face Marshall. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be livestreamed by the ESPN+.
Team Stats
SHSU
RICE
FG%
.508
.339
3FG%
.353
.226
FT%
.900
.700
RB
40
34
TO
13
14
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
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