Thursday, February 13
Houston, TX
7 p.m.
Rice University
70
vs
73
Old Dominion
Photo by: Maria Lysaker - Rice Athletics
Late Rally Comes Up Short as Rice Falls to Old Dominion, 73-70
2/13/2020 10:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON, Texas — Rice had two cracks at a game-tying three-pointer but couldn't connect as the Owls' comeback attempt came up just short, falling to Old Dominion 73-70, Thursday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.
How it Happened
After an opening layup by Old Dominion, two Ako Adams three-pointers sent Rice on an 8-0 run. But the Owls missed their next six shots as ODU scored seven straight to take a 9-8 lead, 6:30 into the game. Rice came right back with eight straight points to take a 16-9 lead. After trading baskets, the Monarchs cut the deficit to two at the under-eight media timeout. Adams then made three free throws and after an ODU basket, Quincy Olivari gave Rice a six-point lead with a three-pointer. A jumper by Old Dominion pulled it within four points, but an 8-2 Rice run gave the Owls their largest lead of the game, 32-22, with 3:59 to play. However, Rice missed its last four shots of the half as ODU closed on an 8-2 run to pull within 34-30 at the break.
Old Dominion came out firing in the second half, making seven of its first 10 shots to take a 48-42 lead through the first five minutes of play. Payton Moore then hit Josh Parrish for a layup to cut the deficit to four, but an 8-1 ODU run gave it its largest lead of the game, 56-45, with 11:35 to play. Back-to-back threes by Adams keyed a 7-0 Rice run to pull within four points. After the teams traded a pair of free throws, the Monarchs scored eight of the next 10 points to extend its lead back to 10, 66-56 with 2:41 to play. Robert Martin converted a three-point play and Parrish made a layup to cut the deficit to five, but four straight ODU points pushed the lead out to 70-61 with 1:01 remaining. But the Owls didn't quit. After a Parrish layup, the teams traded free throws. Trey Murphy III then hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to four. After a Rice foul, the Monarchs made both free throws. However, Adams converted a three-point play to pull Rice within 73-70 with 24 seconds to play. After another foul, ODU's A.J. Oliver missed both foul shots, and Murphy corralled the rebound, giving Rice an opportunity to tie the game. But both he and Drew Peterson missed three-point attempts, and Old Dominion escaped with the victory.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"I thought our guys did a really good job at the end of the game to give ourselves a chance with the last shot to tie it. The way we handled it to get back (in the game), I'm really proud of our guys. I was disappointed in our defense tonight. We didn't play our best defensive game. But give the credit to Old Dominion. They deserved to win. They played better, made adjustments and knocked in the shots when they needed to."
The Stats
Rice was held to just 36.1% from the field and 21.6% from three. Old Dominion connected on 42.6% from the floor but just 19.2% from behind the arc. Rice was also 18-of-23 (78.3%) from the free throw line but was outrebounded, 43-to-39.
Notes
• Rice dropped to 12-14 on the year and 4-9 in Conference USA.
• Rice fell to 1-10 all-time against Old Dominion and 0-5 in Houston.
• Rice placed five players in double-figures for the sixth time this year.
• Rice's 37 three-point attempts tied the most in school history against a Division I opponent.
• Ako Adams scored a season-high 22 points. It was his second 20-point game this year and the fifth of his career.
• Robert Martin scored 11 points and had eight rebounds and a team-high four assists.
• Trey Murphy III scored 10 points and had six rebounds.
• Quincy Olivari and Josh Parrish both scored 10 points.
• Drew Peterson grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
Next Up
Rice will play its final game before C-USA Bonus Play this Saturday, Feb. 15, against Charlotte. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be livestreamed by the ESPN+.
How it Happened
After an opening layup by Old Dominion, two Ako Adams three-pointers sent Rice on an 8-0 run. But the Owls missed their next six shots as ODU scored seven straight to take a 9-8 lead, 6:30 into the game. Rice came right back with eight straight points to take a 16-9 lead. After trading baskets, the Monarchs cut the deficit to two at the under-eight media timeout. Adams then made three free throws and after an ODU basket, Quincy Olivari gave Rice a six-point lead with a three-pointer. A jumper by Old Dominion pulled it within four points, but an 8-2 Rice run gave the Owls their largest lead of the game, 32-22, with 3:59 to play. However, Rice missed its last four shots of the half as ODU closed on an 8-2 run to pull within 34-30 at the break.
Old Dominion came out firing in the second half, making seven of its first 10 shots to take a 48-42 lead through the first five minutes of play. Payton Moore then hit Josh Parrish for a layup to cut the deficit to four, but an 8-1 ODU run gave it its largest lead of the game, 56-45, with 11:35 to play. Back-to-back threes by Adams keyed a 7-0 Rice run to pull within four points. After the teams traded a pair of free throws, the Monarchs scored eight of the next 10 points to extend its lead back to 10, 66-56 with 2:41 to play. Robert Martin converted a three-point play and Parrish made a layup to cut the deficit to five, but four straight ODU points pushed the lead out to 70-61 with 1:01 remaining. But the Owls didn't quit. After a Parrish layup, the teams traded free throws. Trey Murphy III then hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to four. After a Rice foul, the Monarchs made both free throws. However, Adams converted a three-point play to pull Rice within 73-70 with 24 seconds to play. After another foul, ODU's A.J. Oliver missed both foul shots, and Murphy corralled the rebound, giving Rice an opportunity to tie the game. But both he and Drew Peterson missed three-point attempts, and Old Dominion escaped with the victory.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"I thought our guys did a really good job at the end of the game to give ourselves a chance with the last shot to tie it. The way we handled it to get back (in the game), I'm really proud of our guys. I was disappointed in our defense tonight. We didn't play our best defensive game. But give the credit to Old Dominion. They deserved to win. They played better, made adjustments and knocked in the shots when they needed to."
The Stats
Rice was held to just 36.1% from the field and 21.6% from three. Old Dominion connected on 42.6% from the floor but just 19.2% from behind the arc. Rice was also 18-of-23 (78.3%) from the free throw line but was outrebounded, 43-to-39.
Notes
• Rice dropped to 12-14 on the year and 4-9 in Conference USA.
• Rice fell to 1-10 all-time against Old Dominion and 0-5 in Houston.
• Rice placed five players in double-figures for the sixth time this year.
• Rice's 37 three-point attempts tied the most in school history against a Division I opponent.
• Ako Adams scored a season-high 22 points. It was his second 20-point game this year and the fifth of his career.
• Robert Martin scored 11 points and had eight rebounds and a team-high four assists.
• Trey Murphy III scored 10 points and had six rebounds.
• Quincy Olivari and Josh Parrish both scored 10 points.
• Drew Peterson grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
Next Up
Rice will play its final game before C-USA Bonus Play this Saturday, Feb. 15, against Charlotte. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be livestreamed by the ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
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