Wednesday, January 31
Memphis, TN
7 p.m.
Rice University
8-13,2-6AAC
74
at
71
Memphis
15-6,4-4AAC
1
2
F
Rice
33
41
74
Memphis
22
49
71
Late Run Seals Rice’s 74-71 Victory at Memphis
1/31/2024 11:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Travis Evee hit back-to-back threes to give Rice the lead for good and the Owls made six-of-eight free throws to close the game as they defeated Memphis, 74-71, Wednesday night from FedEx Forum.
The Story
Rice began the game by jumping out to a 10-3 lead after a Keanu Dawes three-pointer and a layup from Anthony Selden. Memphis cut the lead to two off a 7-2 run. But consecutive threes by Travis Evee and Alem Huseinovic gave Rice an 18-10 lead. After trading baskets, Selden drove in for a layup and Huseinovic hit his second three of the half to give Rice a 24-14 lead with 4:08 remaining. Memphis made a basket and two free throws, but Keanu Dawes hit his second three. UM hit two more free throws, but Selden closed the half with a layup followed by two free throws to send the Owls into halftime with a 33-22 lead.
Memphis scored seven of the first nine points in the second half to cut Rice's lead to six. A Huseinovic three pushed the lead back to nine. After trading baskets, the Tigers scored five straight to pull within 42-38, seven minutes into the half. The teams went back-and-forth over the next three minutes. But a three-pointer by Mekhi Mason followed by a Max Fiedler put-back sent Rice on a 7-2 run, extending Rice's lead to 55-46. However, the Owls missed five straight shots as consecutive three-pointers by UM sent them on a 15-3 run to take a 61-58 lead with 3:06 to play. The Owls, though, didn't waver. After the teams traded baskets, Evee hit a three-pointer, then hit a second to give Rice the 68-65 lead with 48 seconds remaining. Rice then made six-of-eight free throws to seal Rice's first-ever victory at Memphis.
The Stats
Rice connected on 49.0% (25-of-51) from the field and 47.6% (10-of-21) from three. Memphis, who was receiving votes in both the Associate Press and Coaches polls, was held to just 41.7% (25-of-60) from the floor and 16.7% (3-of-18) from three. Rice was outrebounded, 35-to-30.
What Head Coach Scott Pera Had to Say
"It was a great, great job of our guys playing tough in the clutch and I think all these battles that we've been through helped toughen us up. We really handled getting the ball inbounds well. (Keanu Dawes) hit two very, very big free throws. Travis (Evee) hit two threes. Even though he'd been struggling, he stayed confident and hit two big ones to give us the lead back. Our kids never wavered when they got the lead. The talks in the huddle of leadership by Max (Fiedler) were tremendous. It was a program win. Just a huge win for our guys and a huge win for Rice basketball."
Notes
• This was the 10th meeting between Rice and Memphis and the first since 2013.
• Rice won for the second time in the series and the first time at Memphis.
• Rice connected on 10 three-pointers, the sixth time this year it made at least 10 threes.
• The Owls tied a season-high with 10 steals.
• G Mekhi Mason scored a team-high 17 points on 7-of-10 from the field.
• It was his 16th double-figure scoring game of the year and the 31st of his career.
• F Keanu Dawes scored 15 points and had four rebounds, his fourth double-figure scoring game of the year.
• G Travis Evee scored 14 points, had three rebounds and two steals.
• It was his 17th double-figure scoring game of the year and the 90th of his career.
• With two steals, Evee passed Bobby Tudor (1978-82) and Rashid Smith (2000-04) for ninth-place on Rice's career list with 134.
• G Anthony Selden scored 14 points and had four rebounds, his fourth double-figure scoring game of the year and the 35th of his career.
• F Max Fiedler scored five points, grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, had five assists, two blocks and tied a career-high with four steals.
• With four steals, Fiedler became the first Rice player in school history, and the first Division I player in at least 30 years with career marks of 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists, 100 blocks, and 100 steals.
• With nine rebounds, Fiedler passed Brent Scott (1989-93) for second in school history with 1,055 career rebounds.
• G Alem Huseinovic scored nine points on three, three-pointers.
Next Up
Rice ends its road trip this Saturday, Feb. 3, when it travels to San Antonio to face UTSA. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.
The Story
Rice began the game by jumping out to a 10-3 lead after a Keanu Dawes three-pointer and a layup from Anthony Selden. Memphis cut the lead to two off a 7-2 run. But consecutive threes by Travis Evee and Alem Huseinovic gave Rice an 18-10 lead. After trading baskets, Selden drove in for a layup and Huseinovic hit his second three of the half to give Rice a 24-14 lead with 4:08 remaining. Memphis made a basket and two free throws, but Keanu Dawes hit his second three. UM hit two more free throws, but Selden closed the half with a layup followed by two free throws to send the Owls into halftime with a 33-22 lead.
Memphis scored seven of the first nine points in the second half to cut Rice's lead to six. A Huseinovic three pushed the lead back to nine. After trading baskets, the Tigers scored five straight to pull within 42-38, seven minutes into the half. The teams went back-and-forth over the next three minutes. But a three-pointer by Mekhi Mason followed by a Max Fiedler put-back sent Rice on a 7-2 run, extending Rice's lead to 55-46. However, the Owls missed five straight shots as consecutive three-pointers by UM sent them on a 15-3 run to take a 61-58 lead with 3:06 to play. The Owls, though, didn't waver. After the teams traded baskets, Evee hit a three-pointer, then hit a second to give Rice the 68-65 lead with 48 seconds remaining. Rice then made six-of-eight free throws to seal Rice's first-ever victory at Memphis.
The Stats
Rice connected on 49.0% (25-of-51) from the field and 47.6% (10-of-21) from three. Memphis, who was receiving votes in both the Associate Press and Coaches polls, was held to just 41.7% (25-of-60) from the floor and 16.7% (3-of-18) from three. Rice was outrebounded, 35-to-30.
What Head Coach Scott Pera Had to Say
"It was a great, great job of our guys playing tough in the clutch and I think all these battles that we've been through helped toughen us up. We really handled getting the ball inbounds well. (Keanu Dawes) hit two very, very big free throws. Travis (Evee) hit two threes. Even though he'd been struggling, he stayed confident and hit two big ones to give us the lead back. Our kids never wavered when they got the lead. The talks in the huddle of leadership by Max (Fiedler) were tremendous. It was a program win. Just a huge win for our guys and a huge win for Rice basketball."
Notes
• This was the 10th meeting between Rice and Memphis and the first since 2013.
• Rice won for the second time in the series and the first time at Memphis.
• Rice connected on 10 three-pointers, the sixth time this year it made at least 10 threes.
• The Owls tied a season-high with 10 steals.
• G Mekhi Mason scored a team-high 17 points on 7-of-10 from the field.
• It was his 16th double-figure scoring game of the year and the 31st of his career.
• F Keanu Dawes scored 15 points and had four rebounds, his fourth double-figure scoring game of the year.
• G Travis Evee scored 14 points, had three rebounds and two steals.
• It was his 17th double-figure scoring game of the year and the 90th of his career.
• With two steals, Evee passed Bobby Tudor (1978-82) and Rashid Smith (2000-04) for ninth-place on Rice's career list with 134.
• G Anthony Selden scored 14 points and had four rebounds, his fourth double-figure scoring game of the year and the 35th of his career.
• F Max Fiedler scored five points, grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, had five assists, two blocks and tied a career-high with four steals.
• With four steals, Fiedler became the first Rice player in school history, and the first Division I player in at least 30 years with career marks of 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists, 100 blocks, and 100 steals.
• With nine rebounds, Fiedler passed Brent Scott (1989-93) for second in school history with 1,055 career rebounds.
• G Alem Huseinovic scored nine points on three, three-pointers.
Next Up
Rice ends its road trip this Saturday, Feb. 3, when it travels to San Antonio to face UTSA. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.
Team Stats
Rice
Mem
FG%
.490
.417
3FG%
.476
.167
FT%
.583
.857
RB
30
35
TO
16
16
STL
10
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
15
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
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