Saturday, February 13
Bowling Green, KY
5 p.m.
Rice University
-1210,68 CUSA
66
at
89
WKU
-154,82 CUSA
1
2
F
Rice
28
38
66
Western Ky.
43
46
89
Rice Falls to WKU, 89-66
2/13/2021 7:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Rice started strong but WKU pulled away at the end of the first half before keeping the Owls at bay as Rice fell, 89-66, Saturday night at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Story
Rice made just one of its first six shots as WKU opened the first 3:30 with a 10-3 lead. Rice then got in a groove, making five of its next six shots. But the teams traded baskets over the next 6:08, with the Owls getting as close as two points. With Rice trailing 22-19, WKU scored seven of the next nine points. Quincy Olivari scored five straight points to get Rice within 29-26 with 4:44 remaining in the half. However, Rice missed five of its final six shots and the Hilltoppers closed the half on a 14-2 run to head into the break with a 43-28 lead.
WKU extended its lead to 15 points in the first three minutes of the second half. The Owls then went on an 8-3 run as Travis Evee's three-point play three minutes later brought Rice within 52-42. Luke Frampton then connected on consecutive three-pointers to push the Hilltopper lead to 16. After a Max Fiedler layup, the teams traded free throws and Ege Havsa's layup cut the deficit to 59-47 with 11:27 to play. But WKU went on a 12-0 run to take its largest lead of the game, 71-47, with 9:09 remaining. The Owls came right back, as two Havsa free throws sent Rice on a 13-4 run to pull within 15 with 5:38 to play. But that's as close as Rice would get, as WKU scored nine of the next 11 points to put the game away.
The Stats
Rice connected on 41.0% from the field and just 28.1% from three. WKU connected on 56.5% from the floor and 50.0% from three. Rice was also outrebounded, 33-to-31.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"Obviously, it's a tough task to win here against (WKU). You have to play well to do it. We did not either day. We played one half out of four that resembled our team and what we're capable of. That was last night in the second half. They have veterans, they have a pro and we did not play well enough to beat them today. All the credit goes to them."
Notes
• Rice drops to 12-10 on the year and 6-8 in Conference USA.
• The Owls fell to 2-7 against WKU and 1-4 in Bowling Green.
• Quincy Olivari led the Owls with 14 points.
• Ege Havsa scored a season-high 12 points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.
• Max Fiedler scored 10 points on five-of-six shooting.
• Cameron Sheffield scored a career-high 11 points and grabbed five rebounds. It was his first career double-digit scoring game.
Next Up
Rice will host its final home regular season series of the year, Feb. 19 & 20, when it welcomes Marshall to Tudor Fieldhouse. Friday's game is scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. and Saturday's game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Both games will be livestreamed at ESPN+.
The Story
Rice made just one of its first six shots as WKU opened the first 3:30 with a 10-3 lead. Rice then got in a groove, making five of its next six shots. But the teams traded baskets over the next 6:08, with the Owls getting as close as two points. With Rice trailing 22-19, WKU scored seven of the next nine points. Quincy Olivari scored five straight points to get Rice within 29-26 with 4:44 remaining in the half. However, Rice missed five of its final six shots and the Hilltoppers closed the half on a 14-2 run to head into the break with a 43-28 lead.
WKU extended its lead to 15 points in the first three minutes of the second half. The Owls then went on an 8-3 run as Travis Evee's three-point play three minutes later brought Rice within 52-42. Luke Frampton then connected on consecutive three-pointers to push the Hilltopper lead to 16. After a Max Fiedler layup, the teams traded free throws and Ege Havsa's layup cut the deficit to 59-47 with 11:27 to play. But WKU went on a 12-0 run to take its largest lead of the game, 71-47, with 9:09 remaining. The Owls came right back, as two Havsa free throws sent Rice on a 13-4 run to pull within 15 with 5:38 to play. But that's as close as Rice would get, as WKU scored nine of the next 11 points to put the game away.
The Stats
Rice connected on 41.0% from the field and just 28.1% from three. WKU connected on 56.5% from the floor and 50.0% from three. Rice was also outrebounded, 33-to-31.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"Obviously, it's a tough task to win here against (WKU). You have to play well to do it. We did not either day. We played one half out of four that resembled our team and what we're capable of. That was last night in the second half. They have veterans, they have a pro and we did not play well enough to beat them today. All the credit goes to them."
Notes
• Rice drops to 12-10 on the year and 6-8 in Conference USA.
• The Owls fell to 2-7 against WKU and 1-4 in Bowling Green.
• Quincy Olivari led the Owls with 14 points.
• Ege Havsa scored a season-high 12 points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.
• Max Fiedler scored 10 points on five-of-six shooting.
• Cameron Sheffield scored a career-high 11 points and grabbed five rebounds. It was his first career double-digit scoring game.
Next Up
Rice will host its final home regular season series of the year, Feb. 19 & 20, when it welcomes Marshall to Tudor Fieldhouse. Friday's game is scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. and Saturday's game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Both games will be livestreamed at ESPN+.
Team Stats
Rice
WestKy
FG%
.410
.565
3FG%
.281
.500
FT%
.778
.625
RB
31
33
TO
16
13
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG/F
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