Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Rice Cruises to 70-54 Win over Charlotte on Senior Day
2/15/2020 6:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON, Texas — Rice took charge from the opening tip and never let up, cruising to a 70-54 Senior Day victory, Saturday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.
How it Happened
The teams traded baskets in the first two minutes. With the game tied at five, Ako Adams made a three-pointer as Rice made five of its next six shots, going on a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 17-5 lead. Charlotte scored five of the next seven points, but Robert Martin and Drew Peterson made back-to-back three-pointers to send Rice on an 8-0 run and give it its largest lead of the half, 27-10, with 7:40 to play in the half. However, Rice turned the ball over on four straight possessions as the 49ers scored seven of the next nine points. After baskets from Peterson and Trey Murphy III, Charlotte scored five straight to cut the deficit to 11 with 1:33 left in the half. But Quincy Olivari connected on three free throws to send Rice into halftime with a 36-22 lead.
The Owls came out swinging to start the second half, making their first four shots and scoring the first 10 points of the half to take their largest lead of the game, 46-22, just 2:43 into the half. However, Charlotte went on a 16-5 over the next 4:58 to cut the lead to 51-38. But the Owls came right back. After trading baskets, Martin converted a three-point play that sent Rice on a 13-4 run, taking a 66-44 lead to put the game away.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"I'm really proud of the maturity of our group. Their response to adversity has been completely different than last year and over time this year. They believe that they can compete with every team. It doesn't mean you're going to win every game, but the belief has to be there first, and we have it. It's fun to be around them. It's fun to coach them and it's fun to watch them play defense that way because we don't win many games with defense and today we did. That's another big step in the right direction. I'm obviously really happy for our seniors. It was an all-around really good day for us."
The Stats
Rice connected on 54.0% from the field and 36.0% from three. Charlotte was held to just 36.5% from the floor and 30.8% from behind the arc. Rice was also 7-of-9 (77.8%) from the free throw line while outrebounding the 49ers, 36-to-22.
Notes
• Rice improved to 13-14 on the year and 5-9 in Conference USA.
• Rice improved to 8-5 all-time against Charlotte and 4-3 in Houston.
• The 54 points allowed are the fewest allowed to a Conference USA opponent since allowing 52 to UTSA on Jan. 2, 2015.
• The 16-point margin of victory tied the fifth largest in school history in a Conference USA game.
• Rice connected on 54.0% from the floor, the ninth time it shot at least 50.0% this year.
• Addison Owen made his first career start.
• Tommy McCarthy made his first start of the season.
• Drew Peterson led the Owls with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
• Robert Martin scored 15 points on six-of-eight from the floor.
• Ako Adams scored 14 points and had four assists.
• With four three-pointers, Adams now has 70 on the season. He becomes just the fourth player in Rice history with two seasons of at least 70 three-pointers, joining Marcus Jackson, Egor Koulechov and Austin Ramljak.
• Trey Murphy III set a career-high with four steals.
Next Up
Rice waits to hear its Conference USA Bonus Play schedule. Dates, times and opponents will be announced Sunday afternoon.
How it Happened
The teams traded baskets in the first two minutes. With the game tied at five, Ako Adams made a three-pointer as Rice made five of its next six shots, going on a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 17-5 lead. Charlotte scored five of the next seven points, but Robert Martin and Drew Peterson made back-to-back three-pointers to send Rice on an 8-0 run and give it its largest lead of the half, 27-10, with 7:40 to play in the half. However, Rice turned the ball over on four straight possessions as the 49ers scored seven of the next nine points. After baskets from Peterson and Trey Murphy III, Charlotte scored five straight to cut the deficit to 11 with 1:33 left in the half. But Quincy Olivari connected on three free throws to send Rice into halftime with a 36-22 lead.
The Owls came out swinging to start the second half, making their first four shots and scoring the first 10 points of the half to take their largest lead of the game, 46-22, just 2:43 into the half. However, Charlotte went on a 16-5 over the next 4:58 to cut the lead to 51-38. But the Owls came right back. After trading baskets, Martin converted a three-point play that sent Rice on a 13-4 run, taking a 66-44 lead to put the game away.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"I'm really proud of the maturity of our group. Their response to adversity has been completely different than last year and over time this year. They believe that they can compete with every team. It doesn't mean you're going to win every game, but the belief has to be there first, and we have it. It's fun to be around them. It's fun to coach them and it's fun to watch them play defense that way because we don't win many games with defense and today we did. That's another big step in the right direction. I'm obviously really happy for our seniors. It was an all-around really good day for us."
The Stats
Rice connected on 54.0% from the field and 36.0% from three. Charlotte was held to just 36.5% from the floor and 30.8% from behind the arc. Rice was also 7-of-9 (77.8%) from the free throw line while outrebounding the 49ers, 36-to-22.
Notes
• Rice improved to 13-14 on the year and 5-9 in Conference USA.
• Rice improved to 8-5 all-time against Charlotte and 4-3 in Houston.
• The 54 points allowed are the fewest allowed to a Conference USA opponent since allowing 52 to UTSA on Jan. 2, 2015.
• The 16-point margin of victory tied the fifth largest in school history in a Conference USA game.
• Rice connected on 54.0% from the floor, the ninth time it shot at least 50.0% this year.
• Addison Owen made his first career start.
• Tommy McCarthy made his first start of the season.
• Drew Peterson led the Owls with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
• Robert Martin scored 15 points on six-of-eight from the floor.
• Ako Adams scored 14 points and had four assists.
• With four three-pointers, Adams now has 70 on the season. He becomes just the fourth player in Rice history with two seasons of at least 70 three-pointers, joining Marcus Jackson, Egor Koulechov and Austin Ramljak.
• Trey Murphy III set a career-high with four steals.
Next Up
Rice waits to hear its Conference USA Bonus Play schedule. Dates, times and opponents will be announced Sunday afternoon.
Team Stats
CHARL
RICE
FG%
.365
.540
3FG%
.308
.360
FT%
.727
.778
RB
22
36
TO
15
19
STL
8
9
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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