Wednesday, January 21
Houston, TX
7 p.m.
Rice University
8-11,2-4American
65
vs
69
Temple
12-7,4-2American
1
2
F
Temple
33
36
69
Rice
32
33
65
Rice Drops Hard Fought Contest to Temple
1/21/2026 10:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON — Rice connected 45.6% from the field, and 41.7% from three, but it was not enough, as it fell to Temple, 69-65, Wednesday night from Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Story
Temple jumped out to a 7-6 lead. But the Owls went on a 10-3 run behind a pair of three-pointers by Eternity Eguagie. After a Temple basket, Nick Anderson and Cam Carroll knocked down back-to-back threes, as Rice took its largest lead of the game, 22-12, midway through the first half. After trading baskets, Temple used a 10-2 run to pull within two. Two free throws from Jordan Williams pushed the lead to 28-24. But Rice missed six of its next seven shots, as Temple grabbed a 31-30 lead. A steal by Carroll led to a Jalen Smith layup. However, a jumper from Derrian Ford sent Rice into the break trailing, 33-32.
Temple scored five straight points to begin the second half. But a 7-0 run, capped by an Eguagie three-pointer, gave Rice a 39-38 lead. Temple scored eight of the next 10 points. The teams went back-and-forth over the next three minutes before threes from Eguagie and Trae Broadnax gave Rice a 51-50 lead with 9:05 to play. But a 13-6 Temple run gave it a 63-57 lead with 2:17 remaining. After the teams traded baskets, Broadnax made back-to-back layups to cut the deficit to two. Temple made two free throws, and Broadnax made a layup. But Derrian Ford sealed the win for Temple with a pair of free throws with 5.7 seconds left.
The Stats
Rice connected on 45.6% (26-of-57) from the field, 47.1% (8-of-17) from three, and 71.4% (5-of-7) from the free throw line. Temple was held to 43.1% (26-of-58) from the floor, and 31.3% (5-of-15) from three, but was 14-of-17 (82.4&) from the free throw line. The teams each had 33 rebounds.
What Head Coach Rob Lanier Had to Say
"It was a hard fought game. I thought down the stretch, (Temple's) players played with a tad more confidence than we did. They made some critical shots (and) critical plays. We needed to tighten up our defense down the stretch. We weren't quite able to do that. But credit to them. They did a really good job finishing out the game. I liked our effort. I just felt that in the latter stages of the game, outside of Trae (Broadnax), we didn't play with the kind of confidence that we needed to play with."
Notes
• Rice fell to 8-11 on the year, and 2-4 in the American Conference.
• Rice moves to 1-6 all-time against Temple.
• The Owls are 0-4 all-time in Houston.
• G Trae Broadnax led the Owls with a game-high 17 points, had four rebounds and two steals.
• It was his team-high 17th double-figure scoring game this year, and the 89th of his career.
• G Eternity Eguagie scored 14 points on a career-high four three-pointers.
• It was his sixth double-figure scoring game this year.
• G Jalen Smith scored 1o points.
• It was his 11th double-figure scoring game this year, and the 24th of his career.
• G Cam Carroll had a team-high five assists.
• C Stephen Giwa scored six points, grabbed a team-high six rebounds, and added four blocks.
• He has recorded at least one block for the sixth straight game, and has 18 in the last six games.
Next Up
Due to expected weather, Rice's game against Tulsa has been moved to Saturday, Jan. 24. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.
The Story
Temple jumped out to a 7-6 lead. But the Owls went on a 10-3 run behind a pair of three-pointers by Eternity Eguagie. After a Temple basket, Nick Anderson and Cam Carroll knocked down back-to-back threes, as Rice took its largest lead of the game, 22-12, midway through the first half. After trading baskets, Temple used a 10-2 run to pull within two. Two free throws from Jordan Williams pushed the lead to 28-24. But Rice missed six of its next seven shots, as Temple grabbed a 31-30 lead. A steal by Carroll led to a Jalen Smith layup. However, a jumper from Derrian Ford sent Rice into the break trailing, 33-32.
Temple scored five straight points to begin the second half. But a 7-0 run, capped by an Eguagie three-pointer, gave Rice a 39-38 lead. Temple scored eight of the next 10 points. The teams went back-and-forth over the next three minutes before threes from Eguagie and Trae Broadnax gave Rice a 51-50 lead with 9:05 to play. But a 13-6 Temple run gave it a 63-57 lead with 2:17 remaining. After the teams traded baskets, Broadnax made back-to-back layups to cut the deficit to two. Temple made two free throws, and Broadnax made a layup. But Derrian Ford sealed the win for Temple with a pair of free throws with 5.7 seconds left.
The Stats
Rice connected on 45.6% (26-of-57) from the field, 47.1% (8-of-17) from three, and 71.4% (5-of-7) from the free throw line. Temple was held to 43.1% (26-of-58) from the floor, and 31.3% (5-of-15) from three, but was 14-of-17 (82.4&) from the free throw line. The teams each had 33 rebounds.
What Head Coach Rob Lanier Had to Say
"It was a hard fought game. I thought down the stretch, (Temple's) players played with a tad more confidence than we did. They made some critical shots (and) critical plays. We needed to tighten up our defense down the stretch. We weren't quite able to do that. But credit to them. They did a really good job finishing out the game. I liked our effort. I just felt that in the latter stages of the game, outside of Trae (Broadnax), we didn't play with the kind of confidence that we needed to play with."
Notes
• Rice fell to 8-11 on the year, and 2-4 in the American Conference.
• Rice moves to 1-6 all-time against Temple.
• The Owls are 0-4 all-time in Houston.
• G Trae Broadnax led the Owls with a game-high 17 points, had four rebounds and two steals.
• It was his team-high 17th double-figure scoring game this year, and the 89th of his career.
• G Eternity Eguagie scored 14 points on a career-high four three-pointers.
• It was his sixth double-figure scoring game this year.
• G Jalen Smith scored 1o points.
• It was his 11th double-figure scoring game this year, and the 24th of his career.
• G Cam Carroll had a team-high five assists.
• C Stephen Giwa scored six points, grabbed a team-high six rebounds, and added four blocks.
• He has recorded at least one block for the sixth straight game, and has 18 in the last six games.
Next Up
Due to expected weather, Rice's game against Tulsa has been moved to Saturday, Jan. 24. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.
Team Stats
Temple
Rice
FG%
.431
.456
3FG%
.313
.471
FT%
.824
.714
RB
33
33
TO
6
11
STL
3
4
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
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