Tuesday, November 30
Houston, TX
7 p.m.
Rice University
-44,00 CUSA
69
vs
80
Texas State
5-2,0-0Sun Belt
1
2
F
Texas St.
26
54
80
Rice
38
31
69
Second Half Struggles Doom Rice against Texas State
11/30/2021 10:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON — Rice was outscored 54-31 in the second half as the Owls fell to Texas State, 80-69, Tuesday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Story
Rice started strong, jumping out to an 11-4 lead in the first four minutes behind a three-pointer from Quincy Olivari and two from Carl Pierre. After trading baskets, Texas State scored 11 of 15 points to pull within 15-12 midway through the first half. But the Owls answered with a run of their own, scoring nine of 11 points, capped off by an Olivari three to take a 24-14 lead with 7:51 to play in the half. Two straight Bobcat layups cut the lead to six, but Max Fiedler answered with two of his own. The teams traded baskets before three-pointers by Riley Abercrombie and Pierre gave Rice its largest lead of the game, 36-24, with a minute to play. Shelby Adams made a pair of free throws, but a Pierre layup sent Rice into halftime with a 38-26 advantage.
However, Texas State began the second half making five of its first six shots, opening the half on a 12-0 run to tie the game less than three minutes in. Fiedler made one-of-two free throws and followed it with a layup, but the Bobcats answered with a 10-3 run to take a 48-44 lead. Rice came right back with a Pierre jumper and Olivari three as the Owls retook the lead midway through the second stanza. But Texas State made six straight free throws and got a layup to take a five-point lead. Once again, Rice answered with a 7-2 run as Chris Mullins' layup tied the game at 58 with 6:06 to play. However, the Bobcats went on their own 7-2 run, taking a 65-60 lead into the final media timeout. After Fiedler made two-of-four free throws, the teams traded baskets with a Mullins' layup getting Rice within three points. But Texas State made 11-of-13 free throws in the final 2:25 to put the game away.
The Stats
Rice shot 46.3% from the field and 40.0% from three, but it connected on just 7-of-14 from the free throw line. Texas State shot 47.5% from the floor and just 25.0% from three. But the Bobcats connected on 22-of-24 (91.7%) from the charity stripe. The teams each grabbed 32 rebounds.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"The first three minutes of the second half were the difference. (Texas State) is a veteran team and a winning program and the first three minutes they got it back to even. We played a really good first half, but for whatever reason, we stumbled and they took advantage."
Notes
• This was the 15th meeting overall between Rice and Texas State and the first since 2018.
• Rice leads the series 9-6 overall and 7-5 in Houston.
• Rice tied a season-high with 12 three-pointers.
• It was the fifth straight game with at least 10 three-pointers and the sixth time this year.
• Graduate student Carl Pierre scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed a season-high six rebounds.
• Sophomore Quincy Olivari set season-highs with 14 points and four three-pointers.
• Sophomore Travis Evee scored 13 points and tied a season-high with four assists.
• Evee has scored double-figures in every game.
• With three, three-pointers, Evee became the 30th player in school history with 100 three-pointers.
• Evee has connected on a three in 28 straight games, tying Marcus Jackson for the fifth-longest stretch in school history.
• Sophomore Max Fielder had nine points, three steals and game-highs of nine rebounds and six assists.
Next Up
Rice will play its second straight home game this Saturday, Dec. 4, when it hosts Jarvis Christian. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed at CUSAtv.
The Story
Rice started strong, jumping out to an 11-4 lead in the first four minutes behind a three-pointer from Quincy Olivari and two from Carl Pierre. After trading baskets, Texas State scored 11 of 15 points to pull within 15-12 midway through the first half. But the Owls answered with a run of their own, scoring nine of 11 points, capped off by an Olivari three to take a 24-14 lead with 7:51 to play in the half. Two straight Bobcat layups cut the lead to six, but Max Fiedler answered with two of his own. The teams traded baskets before three-pointers by Riley Abercrombie and Pierre gave Rice its largest lead of the game, 36-24, with a minute to play. Shelby Adams made a pair of free throws, but a Pierre layup sent Rice into halftime with a 38-26 advantage.
However, Texas State began the second half making five of its first six shots, opening the half on a 12-0 run to tie the game less than three minutes in. Fiedler made one-of-two free throws and followed it with a layup, but the Bobcats answered with a 10-3 run to take a 48-44 lead. Rice came right back with a Pierre jumper and Olivari three as the Owls retook the lead midway through the second stanza. But Texas State made six straight free throws and got a layup to take a five-point lead. Once again, Rice answered with a 7-2 run as Chris Mullins' layup tied the game at 58 with 6:06 to play. However, the Bobcats went on their own 7-2 run, taking a 65-60 lead into the final media timeout. After Fiedler made two-of-four free throws, the teams traded baskets with a Mullins' layup getting Rice within three points. But Texas State made 11-of-13 free throws in the final 2:25 to put the game away.
The Stats
Rice shot 46.3% from the field and 40.0% from three, but it connected on just 7-of-14 from the free throw line. Texas State shot 47.5% from the floor and just 25.0% from three. But the Bobcats connected on 22-of-24 (91.7%) from the charity stripe. The teams each grabbed 32 rebounds.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"The first three minutes of the second half were the difference. (Texas State) is a veteran team and a winning program and the first three minutes they got it back to even. We played a really good first half, but for whatever reason, we stumbled and they took advantage."
Notes
• This was the 15th meeting overall between Rice and Texas State and the first since 2018.
• Rice leads the series 9-6 overall and 7-5 in Houston.
• Rice tied a season-high with 12 three-pointers.
• It was the fifth straight game with at least 10 three-pointers and the sixth time this year.
• Graduate student Carl Pierre scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed a season-high six rebounds.
• Sophomore Quincy Olivari set season-highs with 14 points and four three-pointers.
• Sophomore Travis Evee scored 13 points and tied a season-high with four assists.
• Evee has scored double-figures in every game.
• With three, three-pointers, Evee became the 30th player in school history with 100 three-pointers.
• Evee has connected on a three in 28 straight games, tying Marcus Jackson for the fifth-longest stretch in school history.
• Sophomore Max Fielder had nine points, three steals and game-highs of nine rebounds and six assists.
Next Up
Rice will play its second straight home game this Saturday, Dec. 4, when it hosts Jarvis Christian. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed at CUSAtv.
Team Stats
TXST
Rice
FG%
.475
.463
3FG%
.250
.400
FT%
.917
.500
RB
32
32
TO
8
17
STL
10
5
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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