Sunday, January 31
Denton, TX
3 p.m.
Rice University
-108,46 CUSA
53
at
79
North Texas
-95,51 CUSA
1
2
F
Rice
23
30
53
North Texas
34
45
79
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Rice Falls at North Texas, 79-53
1/31/2021 5:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DENTON, Texas — After an early Rice lead, North Texas grabbed the advantage and never looked back as Rice fell to the Mean Green, 79-53, Sunday afternoon at the Super Pit.
The Story
Rice opened the game taking an 8-4 lead as Max Fiedler scored the team's first eight points. But the Owls went more than seven minutes without a field goal, missing seven straight, as the Mean Green went on a 17-3 run to take a 21-11 lead before Travis Evee connected on a three-pointer. The teams traded baskets over the next five minutes. Fiedler made a pair of free throws, but UNT answered with a bucket. Cameron Sheffield then made one-of-two free throws, but two straight baskets by North Texas gave it its largest lead of the half, 34-21. But a layup by Fiedler sent Rice into halftime trailing 34-23.
Rice missed its first five shots of the second half before a Fiedler layup as North Texas scored eight of the first 10 points. After trading baskets, Fiedler connected on a layup. UNT then scored seven of nine points to push its lead to 20 points. The teams again traded buckets before Sheffield's three-pointer cut the lead to 17, but North Texas answered with a three of its own. Quincy Olivari then drove in for a layup. But the Mean Green scored seven of the next nine points to take a 61-38 lead with 8:59 to play. Rice wouldn't get closer than 20 points the rest of the way.
The Stats
Rice connected on 37.0% from the field, 17.6% from three and 66.7% from the foul line. North Texas connected on 57.1% from the floor, 42.1% from three and 100.0% from the charity stripe. Rice was outrebounded, 34-to-27.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"That's the first time that we shot that poorly in a long time. 3-for-17 from three and I think of the first four shots, three were wide-open threes by the right guys. On the road, you've got to make one of those; two would be great to just keep yourself in the flow of the game. I think our offense affected us on defense as the game wore on. We really had a heck of an opportunity on Friday slip through our fingers. Today, they just played better than us. This is the first time all year that we haven't had the lead in the second half. Nobody has done this to us. So now we have to learn from it and it starts with me."
Notes
• Rice dropped to 10-8 on the year and 4-6 in Conference USA.
• The Owls fell to 8-19 against North Texas and 1-10 in Denton.
• Max Fiedler led the Owls with a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds.
• Travis Evee scored nine points
• Payton Moore added seven points.
Next Up
Rice returns home to host a weekend series against Southern Miss, Feb. 5-6. Friday's game is scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. and will be live streamed by ESPN+ while Saturday's game is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be livestreamed by CUSAtv.
The Story
Rice opened the game taking an 8-4 lead as Max Fiedler scored the team's first eight points. But the Owls went more than seven minutes without a field goal, missing seven straight, as the Mean Green went on a 17-3 run to take a 21-11 lead before Travis Evee connected on a three-pointer. The teams traded baskets over the next five minutes. Fiedler made a pair of free throws, but UNT answered with a bucket. Cameron Sheffield then made one-of-two free throws, but two straight baskets by North Texas gave it its largest lead of the half, 34-21. But a layup by Fiedler sent Rice into halftime trailing 34-23.
Rice missed its first five shots of the second half before a Fiedler layup as North Texas scored eight of the first 10 points. After trading baskets, Fiedler connected on a layup. UNT then scored seven of nine points to push its lead to 20 points. The teams again traded buckets before Sheffield's three-pointer cut the lead to 17, but North Texas answered with a three of its own. Quincy Olivari then drove in for a layup. But the Mean Green scored seven of the next nine points to take a 61-38 lead with 8:59 to play. Rice wouldn't get closer than 20 points the rest of the way.
The Stats
Rice connected on 37.0% from the field, 17.6% from three and 66.7% from the foul line. North Texas connected on 57.1% from the floor, 42.1% from three and 100.0% from the charity stripe. Rice was outrebounded, 34-to-27.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"That's the first time that we shot that poorly in a long time. 3-for-17 from three and I think of the first four shots, three were wide-open threes by the right guys. On the road, you've got to make one of those; two would be great to just keep yourself in the flow of the game. I think our offense affected us on defense as the game wore on. We really had a heck of an opportunity on Friday slip through our fingers. Today, they just played better than us. This is the first time all year that we haven't had the lead in the second half. Nobody has done this to us. So now we have to learn from it and it starts with me."
Notes
• Rice dropped to 10-8 on the year and 4-6 in Conference USA.
• The Owls fell to 8-19 against North Texas and 1-10 in Denton.
• Max Fiedler led the Owls with a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds.
• Travis Evee scored nine points
• Payton Moore added seven points.
Next Up
Rice returns home to host a weekend series against Southern Miss, Feb. 5-6. Friday's game is scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. and will be live streamed by ESPN+ while Saturday's game is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be livestreamed by CUSAtv.
Team Stats
Rice
UNT
FG%
.370
.571
3FG%
.176
.421
FT%
.667
1.000
RB
27
34
TO
12
11
STL
7
8
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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