Wednesday, March 10
Frisco, TX
6 p.m.
Rice University
-1512,610 CUSA
72
vs
68
Marshall
-157,95 CUSA
1
2
F
Rice
31
41
72
Marshall
29
39
68
Rice Knocks off Marshall, 72-68, in Second Round of C-USA Tournament
3/10/2021 10:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
FRISCO, Texas — Rice connected on nine-of-ten free throws in the final minute to hold off East Division third-seed Marshall, earning a 72-68 victory and advancing to the quarterfinals of the Air Force Reserve Conference USA Tournament.
The Story
Marshall scored the first four points of the game before Cameron Sheffield got Rice on the board with a three-pointer. Marshall answered with a three, but Sheffield banged home his second straight. After trading baskets, Jannson Williams made one-of-two free throws before Quincy Olivari tied the game with a jumper at 10, 4:27 into the game. The Thundering Herd then scored eight of 10 points to take its largest lead of the half, 18-12. But the Owls came right back, scoring seven straight, capped off by a Max Fiedler layup to give Rice its first lead, 19-18, with 7:21 to play in the half. Marshall retook the lead on a jumper, but a Fiedler layup followed by an Olivari three gave Rice its largest lead of the half, 24-20. Two straight Herd baskets tied the game at 24, but Olivari hit his second three-pointer of the half. The teams then traded baskets before Payton Moore made one-of-two free throws to send Rice into the break with a 31-29 lead.
Williams opened the second half with a jumper to tie the game, but Fiedler made three straight layups in an 8-0 Rice run as the Owls took a 39-31 lead just 3:17 into the second stanza. The teams then traded baskets over the next 3:33. With Rice leading 45-38, Marshall went on a 9-0 run to take a two-point lead midway through the second half. That's when Olivari took over. He hit two straight three-pointers as Rice retook the lead. After a Marshall basket, he capped off an 8-0 run with his fifth three of the game that gave Rice its largest lead of the game, 59-49, with 5:29 to play. The teams then traded baskets before the Thundering Herd made four straight threes to get back in the game. But the Owls connected on nine-of-ten free throws in the final minute to hold off the Herd.
The Stats
Rice connected on 47.2% (25-of-53) from the field and 35.7% (10-of-28) from three. Marshall was held to 41.8% (28-of-67) from the floor but was held to just 29.4% (10-of-34) from three. The teams each grabbed 33 rebounds.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"That was about as good as any win I've had here, that's for sure. This is just such a great group of kids that got a little reward tonight for a very adversity filled season. For our guys to stay with it through that flurry of threes at the end, to make in-bounds passes and front ends of one-and-ones. There's just so many things I'm proud of them for. But mainly just because of how they hung in there, how they believed. We're getting to experience a little bit of fun in March for the first time in four years and we're going to enjoy it."
Notes
• Rice improved to 15-12 on the year.
• The Owls improved to 5-13 against Marshall.
• Rice improves to 8-14 all-time in the Conference USA Tournament.
• Rice improves to 2-1 all-time against Marshall in the Conference USA Tournament.
• The Owls have won two games in the C-USA Tournament for the first time since 2007.
• Rice connected on 10 three-pointers, the 16th time it made at least 10 threes this year.
• Quincy Olivari led all players with game-highs of 23 points and nine rebounds.
• With five three-pointers, Olivari now has 85 on the year, tying Marcus Jackson on for third-place on the Rice single-season list.
• Max Fiedler scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
• Cameron Sheffield scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.
• Cavit Ege Havsa added a team-high five assists.
Next Up
Rice advances to the quarterfinals of the Air Force Reserve Conference USA Tournament and will face West Division two-seed UAB tomorrow, Mar. 11. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be televised by Stadium.
The Story
Marshall scored the first four points of the game before Cameron Sheffield got Rice on the board with a three-pointer. Marshall answered with a three, but Sheffield banged home his second straight. After trading baskets, Jannson Williams made one-of-two free throws before Quincy Olivari tied the game with a jumper at 10, 4:27 into the game. The Thundering Herd then scored eight of 10 points to take its largest lead of the half, 18-12. But the Owls came right back, scoring seven straight, capped off by a Max Fiedler layup to give Rice its first lead, 19-18, with 7:21 to play in the half. Marshall retook the lead on a jumper, but a Fiedler layup followed by an Olivari three gave Rice its largest lead of the half, 24-20. Two straight Herd baskets tied the game at 24, but Olivari hit his second three-pointer of the half. The teams then traded baskets before Payton Moore made one-of-two free throws to send Rice into the break with a 31-29 lead.
Williams opened the second half with a jumper to tie the game, but Fiedler made three straight layups in an 8-0 Rice run as the Owls took a 39-31 lead just 3:17 into the second stanza. The teams then traded baskets over the next 3:33. With Rice leading 45-38, Marshall went on a 9-0 run to take a two-point lead midway through the second half. That's when Olivari took over. He hit two straight three-pointers as Rice retook the lead. After a Marshall basket, he capped off an 8-0 run with his fifth three of the game that gave Rice its largest lead of the game, 59-49, with 5:29 to play. The teams then traded baskets before the Thundering Herd made four straight threes to get back in the game. But the Owls connected on nine-of-ten free throws in the final minute to hold off the Herd.
The Stats
Rice connected on 47.2% (25-of-53) from the field and 35.7% (10-of-28) from three. Marshall was held to 41.8% (28-of-67) from the floor but was held to just 29.4% (10-of-34) from three. The teams each grabbed 33 rebounds.
What Scott Pera Had to Say
"That was about as good as any win I've had here, that's for sure. This is just such a great group of kids that got a little reward tonight for a very adversity filled season. For our guys to stay with it through that flurry of threes at the end, to make in-bounds passes and front ends of one-and-ones. There's just so many things I'm proud of them for. But mainly just because of how they hung in there, how they believed. We're getting to experience a little bit of fun in March for the first time in four years and we're going to enjoy it."
Notes
• Rice improved to 15-12 on the year.
• The Owls improved to 5-13 against Marshall.
• Rice improves to 8-14 all-time in the Conference USA Tournament.
• Rice improves to 2-1 all-time against Marshall in the Conference USA Tournament.
• The Owls have won two games in the C-USA Tournament for the first time since 2007.
• Rice connected on 10 three-pointers, the 16th time it made at least 10 threes this year.
• Quincy Olivari led all players with game-highs of 23 points and nine rebounds.
• With five three-pointers, Olivari now has 85 on the year, tying Marcus Jackson on for third-place on the Rice single-season list.
• Max Fiedler scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
• Cameron Sheffield scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.
• Cavit Ege Havsa added a team-high five assists.
Next Up
Rice advances to the quarterfinals of the Air Force Reserve Conference USA Tournament and will face West Division two-seed UAB tomorrow, Mar. 11. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be televised by Stadium.
Team Stats
RICE
MARSH
FG%
.472
.418
3FG%
.357
.294
FT%
.857
.500
RB
33
33
TO
14
12
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG/F
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