Friday, November 18
Houston, TX
6 p.m.
Rice University
-22,01 CUSA
88
vs
71
Georgia Southern
1-3,0-0Sun Belt
1
2
F
Ga. Southern
48
23
71
Rice
47
41
88
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Late Run Lifts Owls Past Georgia Southern
11/18/2022 10:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Huseinovic pours in 24 points
HOUSTON — Alem Huseinovic poured in 24 points and Rice shook off a surge by Georgia Southern at the end of the first half to clamp down on the Eagles in the second stanza and break open a close game with a 19-2 run to win 88-71 win at Tudor Fieldhouse in the opening game of the Owl Invitational.
The Story
Rice shot 60% from beyond the arc in the first half (9-15) including four in five attempts by Huseinovic to build a nine-point lead with less than nine minutes left in the first half, but Georgia Southern was perfect on its last six shots of the half while holding the Owls scoreless for the last 2:11 to lead by one heading to the locker room. Rice reversed the script in the second half, relying on two-pointers and clamping down defensively. Jake Lieppert started the Owls late run with a three-point play to break a 69-69 tie, then grabbed a rebound and fed Huseinovic for a layup to increase the lead to five and moments later Mekhi Mason score on a layup to push the lead to double-digits and give the freshman his first career double-double, finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
What Head Coach Scott Pera Had to Say
" I thought the end of the first half, we, we handled it poorly and we gave away a lead. At halftime, I was pretty expressive about that and I'm really proud of them for taking that message and closing out a game like that, just getting away from a team without even making it close down the stretch. I'm really proud of our bench, you know, Alem and Jake came in there and really provided a spark. I thought our guys really shared the ball well for a while there in the first half and we got good shots by good shooters.It's hard to be losing at halftime when you make nine threes, but we didn't have to rely on that to win the game. We relied on movement, sharing the ball, making big-time plays, and most importantly defending and that's what we need to keep getting better at. Our guys really dug in at that end and that was the key"
The Stats
Rice connected on 61.1% (33-of-54) from the field and 43.5% (10-of-23) from three. GSU connected on 46.7% (28-60) from the floor and 31.6% (6-of-19) from three. The Owls also connected on 50.0% (9-of-18) from the free throw line and outrebounded UST, 41-to-21.
Notes
• This was the first meeting between the schools
•. Alem Huseinovic 24 points tripled his previous career high of eight (vs. Middle Tennessee) and were only four points shy of matching his season total in 22 games at Nevada last year. He also set career-highs field goals (9) and three-pointers (4)
• G Travis Evee scored 17 points and was 2-of-4 from three.
• Evee now has 173 three-pointers at Rice, passing Brock Gillespie (2001-05) for sixth place on Rice's all-time list.
• G Mekhi Mason recorded his first career double-double. It was his fifth career double-digit rebounding game.
• F Max Fiedler scored nine points, grabbed nine rebounds and tied his career-high with eight assists.
Next Up
Rice takes on Western Michigan at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the Owl Invitational. The Broncos defeated Houston Christian 90-84 in the other opening game of the tournament.
The Story
Rice shot 60% from beyond the arc in the first half (9-15) including four in five attempts by Huseinovic to build a nine-point lead with less than nine minutes left in the first half, but Georgia Southern was perfect on its last six shots of the half while holding the Owls scoreless for the last 2:11 to lead by one heading to the locker room. Rice reversed the script in the second half, relying on two-pointers and clamping down defensively. Jake Lieppert started the Owls late run with a three-point play to break a 69-69 tie, then grabbed a rebound and fed Huseinovic for a layup to increase the lead to five and moments later Mekhi Mason score on a layup to push the lead to double-digits and give the freshman his first career double-double, finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
What Head Coach Scott Pera Had to Say
" I thought the end of the first half, we, we handled it poorly and we gave away a lead. At halftime, I was pretty expressive about that and I'm really proud of them for taking that message and closing out a game like that, just getting away from a team without even making it close down the stretch. I'm really proud of our bench, you know, Alem and Jake came in there and really provided a spark. I thought our guys really shared the ball well for a while there in the first half and we got good shots by good shooters.It's hard to be losing at halftime when you make nine threes, but we didn't have to rely on that to win the game. We relied on movement, sharing the ball, making big-time plays, and most importantly defending and that's what we need to keep getting better at. Our guys really dug in at that end and that was the key"
The Stats
Rice connected on 61.1% (33-of-54) from the field and 43.5% (10-of-23) from three. GSU connected on 46.7% (28-60) from the floor and 31.6% (6-of-19) from three. The Owls also connected on 50.0% (9-of-18) from the free throw line and outrebounded UST, 41-to-21.
Notes
• This was the first meeting between the schools
•. Alem Huseinovic 24 points tripled his previous career high of eight (vs. Middle Tennessee) and were only four points shy of matching his season total in 22 games at Nevada last year. He also set career-highs field goals (9) and three-pointers (4)
• G Travis Evee scored 17 points and was 2-of-4 from three.
• Evee now has 173 three-pointers at Rice, passing Brock Gillespie (2001-05) for sixth place on Rice's all-time list.
• G Mekhi Mason recorded his first career double-double. It was his fifth career double-digit rebounding game.
• F Max Fiedler scored nine points, grabbed nine rebounds and tied his career-high with eight assists.
Next Up
Rice takes on Western Michigan at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the Owl Invitational. The Broncos defeated Houston Christian 90-84 in the other opening game of the tournament.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Team Stats
GS
Rice
FG%
.467
.611
3FG%
.316
.435
FT%
.500
.706
RB
21
41
TO
6
15
STL
9
2
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballWBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09
VB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02