Thursday, November 10
Houston, TX
5 p.m.
Rice University
-11,00 CUSA
85
vs
48
St. Thomas (TX)
0-0,0-0SCAC
1
2
F
St. Thomas (TX)
24
24
48
Rice
38
47
85
Rice Wins Home Opener Over St. Thomas, 85-48
11/10/2022 10:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON — Travis Evee made seven three-pointers and scored a game-high 27 points to lead Rice to an 85-48 victory over St. Thomas in its home opener, Thursday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Story
Rice scored the first five points of the game. After St. Thomas hit a three, Evee hit one of his own that sent the Owls on an 8-0 run. The teams traded baskets before UST used two three-point plays to go on a 9-0 run and cut Rice's lead to 16-14 with just under 10 minutes to play in the half. Rice scored seven of the next nine points, but a St. Thomas three made it a four-point game with six minutes left. Two straight baskets by Andrew Akuchie sent Rice on a 12-4 run. The Celts made a jumper, but Evee hit his third three of the game as Rice went into halftime with a 38-24 lead.
St. Thomas opened the second half scoring with a jumper. But Evee hit a three that sent the Owls on a 15-2 run to take a 53-30 lead. The Celts scored eight of the next nine points to cut the lead to 17, but Jaden Geron's first three-pointer of the year started an 11-3 run that extended Rice's lead to 63-39. The Owls would go on to lead by as many as 39 points.
What Head Coach Scott Pera Had to Say
"The start was what we wanted. We got a lead but (St. Thomas) made a little run. We led by 14 (points) at the half and from there, we kind of opened it up."
The Stats
Rice connected on 48.3% (28-of-58) from the field and 36.8% (14-of-38) from three. St. Thomas connected on 33.9% (19-of-56) from the floor and 23.5% (4-of-17) from three. The Owls also connected on 75.0% (15-of-20) from the free throw line and outrebounded UST, 42-to-29.
Notes
• Rice faced St. Thomas for the 10th time. Rice is 9-1 in the series and have won the last seven.
• All 10 meetings have been at Tudor Fieldhouse.
• Rice is 75-31 all-time in home openers and has won its last five.
• Rice 38 three-point attempts tied the second-most in school history.
• G Reed Myers made his season debut.
• G Travis Evee scored 27 points and was 7-of-10 from three.
• Evee now has 169 three-pointers at Rice, passing Connor Frizzelle (2008-12) and G Quincy Olivari for eighth-place on Rice's all-time list.
• Olivari scored eight points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
• It was his fifth career double-digit rebounding game.
• G Mekhi Mason and F Andrew Akuchie both scored nine points.
• F Max Fiedler scored eight points and led all players with five assists.
Next Up
Rice opens its Conference USA schedule next Tuesday, Nov. 15, when it travels to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to face Middle Tennessee. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.
The Story
Rice scored the first five points of the game. After St. Thomas hit a three, Evee hit one of his own that sent the Owls on an 8-0 run. The teams traded baskets before UST used two three-point plays to go on a 9-0 run and cut Rice's lead to 16-14 with just under 10 minutes to play in the half. Rice scored seven of the next nine points, but a St. Thomas three made it a four-point game with six minutes left. Two straight baskets by Andrew Akuchie sent Rice on a 12-4 run. The Celts made a jumper, but Evee hit his third three of the game as Rice went into halftime with a 38-24 lead.
St. Thomas opened the second half scoring with a jumper. But Evee hit a three that sent the Owls on a 15-2 run to take a 53-30 lead. The Celts scored eight of the next nine points to cut the lead to 17, but Jaden Geron's first three-pointer of the year started an 11-3 run that extended Rice's lead to 63-39. The Owls would go on to lead by as many as 39 points.
What Head Coach Scott Pera Had to Say
"The start was what we wanted. We got a lead but (St. Thomas) made a little run. We led by 14 (points) at the half and from there, we kind of opened it up."
The Stats
Rice connected on 48.3% (28-of-58) from the field and 36.8% (14-of-38) from three. St. Thomas connected on 33.9% (19-of-56) from the floor and 23.5% (4-of-17) from three. The Owls also connected on 75.0% (15-of-20) from the free throw line and outrebounded UST, 42-to-29.
Notes
• Rice faced St. Thomas for the 10th time. Rice is 9-1 in the series and have won the last seven.
• All 10 meetings have been at Tudor Fieldhouse.
• Rice is 75-31 all-time in home openers and has won its last five.
• Rice 38 three-point attempts tied the second-most in school history.
• G Reed Myers made his season debut.
• G Travis Evee scored 27 points and was 7-of-10 from three.
• Evee now has 169 three-pointers at Rice, passing Connor Frizzelle (2008-12) and G Quincy Olivari for eighth-place on Rice's all-time list.
• Olivari scored eight points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
• It was his fifth career double-digit rebounding game.
• G Mekhi Mason and F Andrew Akuchie both scored nine points.
• F Max Fiedler scored eight points and led all players with five assists.
Next Up
Rice opens its Conference USA schedule next Tuesday, Nov. 15, when it travels to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to face Middle Tennessee. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.
Team Stats
UST-TX
Rice
FG%
.339
.483
3FG%
.235
.368
FT%
.750
.750
RB
29
42
TO
14
8
STL
3
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
27
FGM
9
3FGM
7
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
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