Saturday, January 23
Birmingham, AL
4 p.m.
Rice University
0
74
at
86
UAB
0
1
2
F
Rice
39
35
74
UAB
50
36
86
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Rice Comes Up Short at UAB, 86-74
1/23/2021 8:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Rice battled throughout, but in the end, UAB was able to pull away as Rice fell, 86-74, in the series finale Saturday afternoon from Bartow Arena.
The Story
After Rice took a 3-2 lead, UAB went on an 11-2 run. A layup by Riley Abercrombie pulled Rice within four points. A 7-0 UAB run gave it its largest lead of the half, 18-7, five minutes into the game. But Quincy Olivari scored seven of the next nine points as Rice went on a 16-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 23-20 lead. After a UAB basket, Tre Clark made one-of-two free throws. Tyreek Scott-Grayson then gave the Blazers a one point lead on a three-pointer. But Cameron Sheffield answered with a three of his own as a 7-2 Rice run gave it its largest lead of the game, 31-27, with 6:54 to play in the half. But the Owls missed their next five shots as UAB went on a 10-0 run. Two free throws by Mylyjael Poteat cut the deficit to four. But UAB made six of its final seven shots as Rice went into halftime trailing 50-39.
For the second straight game, Rice started the second half on fire. Abercrombie and Olivari hit back-to-back threes as Rice opened the half on a 13-3 to pull within 53-52 just 4:20 in. An 11-4 run pushed UAB's lead to 59-54. Olivari made a jumper but five straight UAB points gave it a 64-56 lead. Poteat converted a three-point play to cut it to five with 12:42, but Rice made just one of its next 10 shots over the next eight minutes as UAB extended its lead to 75-63. Olivari made a pair of free throws as Rice scored six of the next eight points to make it a 77-69 game. But the Owls would get no closer.
The Stats
Rice connected on 46.2% (24-of-52) from the field, 40.0% (8-of-20) from three and 78.3% (18-of-23) from the foul line. UAB connected on 47.7% (31-of-65) from the floor, 31.6% (8-of-20) from three and 81.8% (18-of-22) from the charity stripe. Rice outrebounded the Blazers, 39-to-29, but UAB outscored the Owls, 23-3, off turnovers.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"Credit goes to our guys for being able to adjust on these short turnarounds and apply things. It's a special group of kids. I just told them, for me, during a very difficult time, they make it fun every day. Because of who they are, what they are about, how hard they work, how coachable they are and the character that they have. I'm disappointed we lost. They're disappointed and they should be because there's no moral victories for us anymore. But I know this; we've got a tough group of kids. We're going to keep getting better. We're going to get back to work when we get home. And we've got to play better Thursday night against North Texas because nobody is feeling sorry for us. We've got to find a way to win."
Notes
• Rice dropped to 10-6 on the year and 4-4 in Conference USA.
• The Owls fell to 2-16 against UAB and 1-9 in Birmingham.
• Cameron Sheffield made his first career start, scoring a career-high eight points while tying his career-high with seven rebounds.
• Quincy Olivari led the Owls with 21 points, four rebounds and a career-high four assists.
• It was his sixth 20-point game of the year.
• Riley Abercrombie scored a career-high 15 points and grabbed four rebounds.
• Max Fiedler recorded his sixth double-double of the year, scoring 12 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
Next Up
Rice returns to the court next week when it faces North Texas in a home-and-home series. The Owls will host UNT on Thursday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. before traveling to Denton on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 4 p.m. Both games will be livestreamed at ESPN+.
The Story
After Rice took a 3-2 lead, UAB went on an 11-2 run. A layup by Riley Abercrombie pulled Rice within four points. A 7-0 UAB run gave it its largest lead of the half, 18-7, five minutes into the game. But Quincy Olivari scored seven of the next nine points as Rice went on a 16-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 23-20 lead. After a UAB basket, Tre Clark made one-of-two free throws. Tyreek Scott-Grayson then gave the Blazers a one point lead on a three-pointer. But Cameron Sheffield answered with a three of his own as a 7-2 Rice run gave it its largest lead of the game, 31-27, with 6:54 to play in the half. But the Owls missed their next five shots as UAB went on a 10-0 run. Two free throws by Mylyjael Poteat cut the deficit to four. But UAB made six of its final seven shots as Rice went into halftime trailing 50-39.
For the second straight game, Rice started the second half on fire. Abercrombie and Olivari hit back-to-back threes as Rice opened the half on a 13-3 to pull within 53-52 just 4:20 in. An 11-4 run pushed UAB's lead to 59-54. Olivari made a jumper but five straight UAB points gave it a 64-56 lead. Poteat converted a three-point play to cut it to five with 12:42, but Rice made just one of its next 10 shots over the next eight minutes as UAB extended its lead to 75-63. Olivari made a pair of free throws as Rice scored six of the next eight points to make it a 77-69 game. But the Owls would get no closer.
The Stats
Rice connected on 46.2% (24-of-52) from the field, 40.0% (8-of-20) from three and 78.3% (18-of-23) from the foul line. UAB connected on 47.7% (31-of-65) from the floor, 31.6% (8-of-20) from three and 81.8% (18-of-22) from the charity stripe. Rice outrebounded the Blazers, 39-to-29, but UAB outscored the Owls, 23-3, off turnovers.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"Credit goes to our guys for being able to adjust on these short turnarounds and apply things. It's a special group of kids. I just told them, for me, during a very difficult time, they make it fun every day. Because of who they are, what they are about, how hard they work, how coachable they are and the character that they have. I'm disappointed we lost. They're disappointed and they should be because there's no moral victories for us anymore. But I know this; we've got a tough group of kids. We're going to keep getting better. We're going to get back to work when we get home. And we've got to play better Thursday night against North Texas because nobody is feeling sorry for us. We've got to find a way to win."
Notes
• Rice dropped to 10-6 on the year and 4-4 in Conference USA.
• The Owls fell to 2-16 against UAB and 1-9 in Birmingham.
• Cameron Sheffield made his first career start, scoring a career-high eight points while tying his career-high with seven rebounds.
• Quincy Olivari led the Owls with 21 points, four rebounds and a career-high four assists.
• It was his sixth 20-point game of the year.
• Riley Abercrombie scored a career-high 15 points and grabbed four rebounds.
• Max Fiedler recorded his sixth double-double of the year, scoring 12 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
Next Up
Rice returns to the court next week when it faces North Texas in a home-and-home series. The Owls will host UNT on Thursday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. before traveling to Denton on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 4 p.m. Both games will be livestreamed at ESPN+.
Team Stats
RCE
UAB
FG%
.462
.477
3FG%
.400
.316
FT%
.783
.818
RB
39
29
TO
19
5
STL
2
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
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