Saturday, January 16
Houston, TX
1 p.m.
Rice University
-104,42 CUSA
58
vs
61
Old Dominion
-84,42 CUSA
1
2
F
Old Dominion
30
31
61
Rice
24
34
58
Furious Comeback Comes Up Short as Rice Falls to Old Dominion, 61-58
1/16/2021 4:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON — Rice came back from a 14-point deficit to take a four-point lead, but Old Dominion closed the final 3:10 on a 9-2 run as Rice fell 61-58 in the series finale Saturday afternoon from Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Story
Old Dominion made four of its first five shots as it jumped out to an 8-3 lead. Travis Evee scored Rice's first nine points, all on three-pointers, and after an ODU basket, Quincy Olivari hit a three to tie the game at 12, 5:33 into the game. The Monarchs scored six straight points, but Rice pulled within two on a pair of Cameron Sheffield free throws and a Chris Mullins jumper. However, the Owls missed their next nine shots as ODU went on a 7-0 run to take a 25-16 lead. After a Sheffield free throw, Mullins broke the streak with a three-pointer to pull Rice within five points. Old Dominion, though, scored four straight to take its largest lead of the half, 29-20, with 1:42 to play in the half. But Rice scored four of the final five points, including a pair of free throws by Evee with 0.5 seconds left to send it into halftime trailing 30-24.
Rice missed its first seven shots of the second half as ODU extended its lead to 36-24. Max Fiedler got the Owls on the board with a three-point play, but a Monarch basket followed by a three-pointer gave them their largest lead of the game, 41-27, 5:33 into the second half. Rice then began to chip away at the deficit. Two Payton Moore free throws sent Rice on a 7-0 run to pull within 41-34. Old Dominion scored eight of the next 11 points to push its lead back to 49-37 midway through the half. But Riley Abercrombie hit a pair of three-pointers as Rice went on an 11-0 run to pull within one. Kalu Ezikpe's jumper made it a three-point game, but Evee's fourth three-pointer pulled the Owls even at 51. Joe Reece made one-of-two free throws, but Cavit Ege Havsa turned a steal into a layup to give Rice its first lead since it was 3-2. Rice got a stop and pushed its lead to 56-52 on an Abercrombie three with 4:40 to play. Rice had a chance to extend its lead even more, but turned it over on its next two possessions before ODU scored five straight to retake the lead. A Mullins jumper gave Rice a 58-57 lead with 35 seconds left. Mullins then fouled Malik Curry, who made both free throws to give ODU a one-point lead. But Curry fouled Evee with four seconds left. However, Evee missed both free throws and the Monarchs grabbed the rebound to seal the victory.
The Stats
Rice was held to 37.5% (18-of-48) from the field but was 37.0% (10-of-27) from three. Old Dominion was held to 38.2% (21-of-55) from the floor and 33.3% (4-of-12) from three. Rice was outrebounded by the Monarchs, 39-to-32.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"Losing is not fun. The guys are taking it hard and they should take it hard. We don't want to accept losing in any way, shape or form. We had 20 turnovers and they outrebounded us. We lost both of those categories when yesterday we won them. If we had played better the first 39:50, we would have won the game. It's a credit to our kids, being down 41-27, coming back and getting the lead. Just fighting like crazy. It will bode us well in the future, but today it hurts."
Notes
• Rice dropped to 10-4 on the year and 4-2 in Conference USA.
• The Owls fell to 2-11 against Old Dominion and 1-6 in Houston.
• Rice connected on 10 three-pointers, the 11th time this year that Rice has connected on at least 10 three-pointers.
• Travis Evee led the Owls with 14 points.
• Riley Abercrombie scored 12 points, on three, three-pointers.
• Cavit Ege Havsa scored 10 points.
• Max Fiedler recorded eight rebounds and five assists.
Next Up
Rice will leave Texas for the first time this year when it travels to Birmingham, Ala., to face UAB. Friday's game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. and be livestreamed on CUSAtv while Saturday's game is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be livestreamed at ESPN+.
The Story
Old Dominion made four of its first five shots as it jumped out to an 8-3 lead. Travis Evee scored Rice's first nine points, all on three-pointers, and after an ODU basket, Quincy Olivari hit a three to tie the game at 12, 5:33 into the game. The Monarchs scored six straight points, but Rice pulled within two on a pair of Cameron Sheffield free throws and a Chris Mullins jumper. However, the Owls missed their next nine shots as ODU went on a 7-0 run to take a 25-16 lead. After a Sheffield free throw, Mullins broke the streak with a three-pointer to pull Rice within five points. Old Dominion, though, scored four straight to take its largest lead of the half, 29-20, with 1:42 to play in the half. But Rice scored four of the final five points, including a pair of free throws by Evee with 0.5 seconds left to send it into halftime trailing 30-24.
Rice missed its first seven shots of the second half as ODU extended its lead to 36-24. Max Fiedler got the Owls on the board with a three-point play, but a Monarch basket followed by a three-pointer gave them their largest lead of the game, 41-27, 5:33 into the second half. Rice then began to chip away at the deficit. Two Payton Moore free throws sent Rice on a 7-0 run to pull within 41-34. Old Dominion scored eight of the next 11 points to push its lead back to 49-37 midway through the half. But Riley Abercrombie hit a pair of three-pointers as Rice went on an 11-0 run to pull within one. Kalu Ezikpe's jumper made it a three-point game, but Evee's fourth three-pointer pulled the Owls even at 51. Joe Reece made one-of-two free throws, but Cavit Ege Havsa turned a steal into a layup to give Rice its first lead since it was 3-2. Rice got a stop and pushed its lead to 56-52 on an Abercrombie three with 4:40 to play. Rice had a chance to extend its lead even more, but turned it over on its next two possessions before ODU scored five straight to retake the lead. A Mullins jumper gave Rice a 58-57 lead with 35 seconds left. Mullins then fouled Malik Curry, who made both free throws to give ODU a one-point lead. But Curry fouled Evee with four seconds left. However, Evee missed both free throws and the Monarchs grabbed the rebound to seal the victory.
The Stats
Rice was held to 37.5% (18-of-48) from the field but was 37.0% (10-of-27) from three. Old Dominion was held to 38.2% (21-of-55) from the floor and 33.3% (4-of-12) from three. Rice was outrebounded by the Monarchs, 39-to-32.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"Losing is not fun. The guys are taking it hard and they should take it hard. We don't want to accept losing in any way, shape or form. We had 20 turnovers and they outrebounded us. We lost both of those categories when yesterday we won them. If we had played better the first 39:50, we would have won the game. It's a credit to our kids, being down 41-27, coming back and getting the lead. Just fighting like crazy. It will bode us well in the future, but today it hurts."
Notes
• Rice dropped to 10-4 on the year and 4-2 in Conference USA.
• The Owls fell to 2-11 against Old Dominion and 1-6 in Houston.
• Rice connected on 10 three-pointers, the 11th time this year that Rice has connected on at least 10 three-pointers.
• Travis Evee led the Owls with 14 points.
• Riley Abercrombie scored 12 points, on three, three-pointers.
• Cavit Ege Havsa scored 10 points.
• Max Fiedler recorded eight rebounds and five assists.
Next Up
Rice will leave Texas for the first time this year when it travels to Birmingham, Ala., to face UAB. Friday's game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. and be livestreamed on CUSAtv while Saturday's game is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be livestreamed at ESPN+.
Team Stats
ODU
RICE
FG%
.382
.375
3FG%
.333
.370
FT%
.714
.706
RB
39
32
TO
17
20
STL
13
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
G/F
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