Saturday, February 9
Tudor Fieldhouse
7 p.m.
Rice University
-1015, 57 CUSA
74
vs
69
Marshall
-1312, 66 CUSA
1
2
F
Marshall
31
38
69
Rice
40
34
74
Photo by: Maria Lysaker - Rice Athletics
Rice Uses Balanced Scoring to Defeat Marshall, 74-69
2/9/2019 11:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON — Rice placed five players in double-figures and held off a furious Marshall rally to defeat the Thundering Herd, 74-69, Saturday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.
What Head Coach Scott Pera Had to Say
"I'm really proud of our guys. We've been in that situation many times now. To stay with it, keep staying confident, make a couple of big plays and defend like we did down the stretch to secure the win, obviously it means a lot. It's a big one for us as we continue to try to build this. Marshall's been a great program and I'm just really proud of our guys."
The Story
Rice scored six of the first nine points, but Marshall answered with 13 of the next 18 to take its biggest lead of the game, 16-11, 7:24 into the game. The Owls went on a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to take a 23-18 lead. Five straight points by Marshall tied the game before Rice went on a 15-4 run to take its largest lead of the half, 38-27, with 1:25 to play in the half. Two straight Thundering Herd baskets cut the lead to seven, but Payton Moore made a pair of free throws right before the half to send Rice into the break with a 40-31 lead. The Owls came out strong in the second half, opening with a 10-2 run to take its largest lead of the game, 50-33, just 4:21 into the second stanza. However, Rice missed its next five shots as Marshall went on a 12-0 run to cut the lead to 50-45. Rice pushed its lead back to double-digits with five straight points, then after Marshall cut it to a seven-point lead, scored six straight to lead 65-52 with 5:33 to play. The Owls, though, went without a field goal over the next 3:34 as the Thundering Herd went on a 14-3 run, and after Robert Martin made a layup, Jannson Williams' three-pointer cut Rice's lead to just 70-69 with 1:01 to play. But, a Jack Williams layup and free throws from Martin and Chris Mullins sealed the victory for the Owls.
The Stats
Rice shot 40.7% from the field and 31.8% from three. The Owls held Marshall to an opponent season-low 32.3% from the floor and 29.5% from three. Rice outrebounded the Thundering Herd, 48-to-41, and outscored them in the paint, 30-to-16.
Notes
• Rice improved to 10-15 on the year and 5-7 in Conference USA.
• Rice is 4-11 all-time against Marshall and picked up it's first-ever win at home in the series in seven tries.
• Rice set a season-high with 41 defensive rebounds.
• Chris Mullins led Rice with 12 points, a career-high eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
• Jack Williams had 11 points and eight rebounds.
• Trey Murphy III scored 11 points and connected on three, three-pointers.
• Robert Martin scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
• Quentin Millora-Brown recorded 10 points, six rebounds and a career-high tying four assists.
Next Up
Rice begins its final weekend of scheduled games before Conference USA's Bonus Play next Thursday when it travels to Miami, Fla., to face FIU. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be livestreamed on CUSAtv.
What Head Coach Scott Pera Had to Say
"I'm really proud of our guys. We've been in that situation many times now. To stay with it, keep staying confident, make a couple of big plays and defend like we did down the stretch to secure the win, obviously it means a lot. It's a big one for us as we continue to try to build this. Marshall's been a great program and I'm just really proud of our guys."
The Story
Rice scored six of the first nine points, but Marshall answered with 13 of the next 18 to take its biggest lead of the game, 16-11, 7:24 into the game. The Owls went on a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to take a 23-18 lead. Five straight points by Marshall tied the game before Rice went on a 15-4 run to take its largest lead of the half, 38-27, with 1:25 to play in the half. Two straight Thundering Herd baskets cut the lead to seven, but Payton Moore made a pair of free throws right before the half to send Rice into the break with a 40-31 lead. The Owls came out strong in the second half, opening with a 10-2 run to take its largest lead of the game, 50-33, just 4:21 into the second stanza. However, Rice missed its next five shots as Marshall went on a 12-0 run to cut the lead to 50-45. Rice pushed its lead back to double-digits with five straight points, then after Marshall cut it to a seven-point lead, scored six straight to lead 65-52 with 5:33 to play. The Owls, though, went without a field goal over the next 3:34 as the Thundering Herd went on a 14-3 run, and after Robert Martin made a layup, Jannson Williams' three-pointer cut Rice's lead to just 70-69 with 1:01 to play. But, a Jack Williams layup and free throws from Martin and Chris Mullins sealed the victory for the Owls.
The Stats
Rice shot 40.7% from the field and 31.8% from three. The Owls held Marshall to an opponent season-low 32.3% from the floor and 29.5% from three. Rice outrebounded the Thundering Herd, 48-to-41, and outscored them in the paint, 30-to-16.
Notes
• Rice improved to 10-15 on the year and 5-7 in Conference USA.
• Rice is 4-11 all-time against Marshall and picked up it's first-ever win at home in the series in seven tries.
• Rice set a season-high with 41 defensive rebounds.
• Chris Mullins led Rice with 12 points, a career-high eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
• Jack Williams had 11 points and eight rebounds.
• Trey Murphy III scored 11 points and connected on three, three-pointers.
• Robert Martin scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
• Quentin Millora-Brown recorded 10 points, six rebounds and a career-high tying four assists.
Next Up
Rice begins its final weekend of scheduled games before Conference USA's Bonus Play next Thursday when it travels to Miami, Fla., to face FIU. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be livestreamed on CUSAtv.
Team Stats
MARM
RICE
FG%
.323
.407
3FG%
.295
.318
FT%
.667
.613
RB
41
48
TO
12
14
STL
10
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
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