Saturday, January 25
Houston, TX
7 p.m.
Rice University
-913,18 CUSA
88
vs
90
UTSA
-1011,44 CUSA
1
2
F
UTSA
39
51
90
Rice
38
50
88
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Rice Drops Heartbreaker to UTSA Despite 18 Three-Pointers
1/25/2020 11:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON — Rice tied a school record with 18 three-pointers, but Erik Czumbel's layup with one second left gave UTSA the 90-88 victory, Saturday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.
How it Happened
UTSA jumped out to a 10-2 lead just 3:38 into the game. The teams traded baskets over the next 2:40. With the Roadrunners leading 15-8, Trey Murphy III got Rice going, converting a three-point play that sent it on an 11-0 run to take a 19-15 lead midway through the first half. But UTSA came right back, going on an 11-2 run that gave it a 26-21 lead with 6:56 to play. After Ako Adams made three free throws, UTSA made a jumper. Quincy Olivari's three brought Rice to within one point. The Roadrunners extended their lead to five, but a Payton Moore three followed by a Drew Peterson layup tied the game at 32 with 3:07 to play. UTSA again took a five-point lead. Moore made his third three of the half, and after a UTSA basket, Adams drilled a three-pointer to send Rice into halftime trailing 39-38.
Rice came out firing in the second half, making four straight shots to begin the half on an 11-2 run and take a 49-41 lead, two minutes in and forcing a UTSA timeout. The teams went back-and-forth over the next three minutes before a Robert Martin three-pointer and Josh Parrish layup gave Rice a 10-point lead. After a pair of Roadrunner free throws, Adams made a three-pointer as Rice took its largest lead of the game, 64-53, with 12:35 remaining. An 8-0 UTSA run cut the lead to three points, but six straight points by Olivari pushed the Owls' lead to nine. However, the Owls made just one of its next nine shots as UTSA went on a 16-4 run over the next four minutes to take a 77-74 lead. Rice came right back to retake the lead with five minutes to play as Moore made two-of-three free throws and Parrish drove in for a layup. After two free throws by UTSA, Parrish made one-of-two to tie the game at 79. The Roadrunners jumped out to a five-point lead, but a Murphy three-pointer cut the deficit to two points. After a UTSA basket, Mullins made his only bucket of the game, a three-pointer to pull Rice within one. A UTSA bucket gave it a three-point lead, but Adams' sixth three-pointer of the game tied it at 88 with 1:01 to play. Rice got a stop and had a chance to take the lead, however Adams' jumper was off the mark and UTSA touched it out of bounds, giving Rice the ball back with just six seconds on the clock. But Adams had to rush his shot and Czumbel grabbed the rebound and went the distance for the deciding layup.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"Obviously, that's a tough way to lose. We didn't take the best shot (at the end). (UTSA) got the rebound with (Czumbel) on the run. He did the right thing going all the way to the rim and he made a great finish. The credit goes to them. They deserved to win. Obviously, this is hard for us. To fight that hard and come up short at the buzzer, it's hard to swallow."
The Stats
Rice connected on 46.0% from the field, 51.4% from three and was 12-of-16 from the free throw line. UTSA connected on 50.0% from the floor, 44.4% from behind the arc and was 12-of-14 from the charity stripe. UTSA also outrebounded the Owls, 36-to-34.
Notes
• Rice fell to 9-13 on the year and 1-8 in Conference USA.
• Rice dropped to 5-10 all-time against UTSA and 4-4 in Houston.
• Rice tied a school record with 18 three-pointers. It also tied the third-most three-pointers made in a conference game in Conference USA history.
• The 18 three-pointers were the 10th time this year Rice had at least 10 threes in a game.
• Rice scored 50 points in the second half. It is the eighth time this year it has scored at least 50 points in a half.
• Ako Adams scored a season-high 21 points. It was his first 20-point game this year and the fourth of his career.
• With 21 points, Adams passed Bobby Tudor (1978-82), Connor Cashaw (2015-18) and Brock Gillespie (2001-05) for 34th-place in school history with 1,025 career points.
• Adams connected on six three-pointers, giving him 201 in his career to set a new Rice record for career three-pointers, passing Dana Hardy (1988-92).
• Josh Parrish scored 17 points and had a career-high six assists.
• Quincy Olivari set career-highs with 12 points and three, three-pointers.
• Payton Moore scored 11 points and tied a career-high with three, three-pointers.
• Chris Mullins grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
Next Up
Rice will have a week off before closing its homestand next Saturday, Feb. 1, when it hosts North Texas. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be livestreamed by the ESPN+.
How it Happened
UTSA jumped out to a 10-2 lead just 3:38 into the game. The teams traded baskets over the next 2:40. With the Roadrunners leading 15-8, Trey Murphy III got Rice going, converting a three-point play that sent it on an 11-0 run to take a 19-15 lead midway through the first half. But UTSA came right back, going on an 11-2 run that gave it a 26-21 lead with 6:56 to play. After Ako Adams made three free throws, UTSA made a jumper. Quincy Olivari's three brought Rice to within one point. The Roadrunners extended their lead to five, but a Payton Moore three followed by a Drew Peterson layup tied the game at 32 with 3:07 to play. UTSA again took a five-point lead. Moore made his third three of the half, and after a UTSA basket, Adams drilled a three-pointer to send Rice into halftime trailing 39-38.
Rice came out firing in the second half, making four straight shots to begin the half on an 11-2 run and take a 49-41 lead, two minutes in and forcing a UTSA timeout. The teams went back-and-forth over the next three minutes before a Robert Martin three-pointer and Josh Parrish layup gave Rice a 10-point lead. After a pair of Roadrunner free throws, Adams made a three-pointer as Rice took its largest lead of the game, 64-53, with 12:35 remaining. An 8-0 UTSA run cut the lead to three points, but six straight points by Olivari pushed the Owls' lead to nine. However, the Owls made just one of its next nine shots as UTSA went on a 16-4 run over the next four minutes to take a 77-74 lead. Rice came right back to retake the lead with five minutes to play as Moore made two-of-three free throws and Parrish drove in for a layup. After two free throws by UTSA, Parrish made one-of-two to tie the game at 79. The Roadrunners jumped out to a five-point lead, but a Murphy three-pointer cut the deficit to two points. After a UTSA basket, Mullins made his only bucket of the game, a three-pointer to pull Rice within one. A UTSA bucket gave it a three-point lead, but Adams' sixth three-pointer of the game tied it at 88 with 1:01 to play. Rice got a stop and had a chance to take the lead, however Adams' jumper was off the mark and UTSA touched it out of bounds, giving Rice the ball back with just six seconds on the clock. But Adams had to rush his shot and Czumbel grabbed the rebound and went the distance for the deciding layup.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"Obviously, that's a tough way to lose. We didn't take the best shot (at the end). (UTSA) got the rebound with (Czumbel) on the run. He did the right thing going all the way to the rim and he made a great finish. The credit goes to them. They deserved to win. Obviously, this is hard for us. To fight that hard and come up short at the buzzer, it's hard to swallow."
The Stats
Rice connected on 46.0% from the field, 51.4% from three and was 12-of-16 from the free throw line. UTSA connected on 50.0% from the floor, 44.4% from behind the arc and was 12-of-14 from the charity stripe. UTSA also outrebounded the Owls, 36-to-34.
Notes
• Rice fell to 9-13 on the year and 1-8 in Conference USA.
• Rice dropped to 5-10 all-time against UTSA and 4-4 in Houston.
• Rice tied a school record with 18 three-pointers. It also tied the third-most three-pointers made in a conference game in Conference USA history.
• The 18 three-pointers were the 10th time this year Rice had at least 10 threes in a game.
• Rice scored 50 points in the second half. It is the eighth time this year it has scored at least 50 points in a half.
• Ako Adams scored a season-high 21 points. It was his first 20-point game this year and the fourth of his career.
• With 21 points, Adams passed Bobby Tudor (1978-82), Connor Cashaw (2015-18) and Brock Gillespie (2001-05) for 34th-place in school history with 1,025 career points.
• Adams connected on six three-pointers, giving him 201 in his career to set a new Rice record for career three-pointers, passing Dana Hardy (1988-92).
• Josh Parrish scored 17 points and had a career-high six assists.
• Quincy Olivari set career-highs with 12 points and three, three-pointers.
• Payton Moore scored 11 points and tied a career-high with three, three-pointers.
• Chris Mullins grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
Next Up
Rice will have a week off before closing its homestand next Saturday, Feb. 1, when it hosts North Texas. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be livestreamed by the ESPN+.
Team Stats
UTSA
RICE
FG%
.500
.460
3FG%
.444
.514
FT%
.857
.750
RB
36
34
TO
12
15
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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