Strong Second Half Propels Rice to Win at East Carolina

Wednesday, January 28

Greenville, NC

6 p.m.

Rice University

9-12,3-5American

East Carolina

6-15,1-7American

Rice

East Carolina

Strong Second Half Propels Rice to Win at East Carolina

1/28/2026 10:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Book (PDF)

By: Tim Andrzejewski (tra3@rice.edu)

GREENVILLE, N.C. — Rice connected on 57.1% in the second half, then held off a hard-charging East Carolina to earn an 83-77 victory, Wednesday night from Minges Coliseum.

The Story
After East Carolina opened the scoring, Jalen Smith hit a three-pointer, and Nick Anderson made a layup. The teams then traded baskets before Giovanni Emejuru made two free throws. But Trae Broadnax found Jimmy Oladokun, Jr. for an alley-oop, and Eternity Eguagie made a three. ECU scored six of the next eight points. The Owls then got threes from Anderson and Broadnax to take a six-point lead. The Pirates scored seven of the next eight points, tying the game at 21. But a three from Smith sent Rice on a 9-0 run as it took its largest lead of the half, 30-21, with 4:29 to play in the half. However, Rice was held without a field goal the rest of the half, as ECU closed on a 12-3 run to send the teams into halftime tied at 33.

Anderson started the second half scoring 11 of Rice's first 15 points, as the Owls jumped out to a 48-39 lead, just 4:05 into the half. Four straight points by Eli Delaurier cut the deficit to five. Eguagie and Broadnax made layups, and Emejuru made one-of-two free throws. That's when Smith took over, hitting a jumper and two straight threes to push Rice's lead to 60-44. ECU scored four straight, but Smith made a jumper and a three-pointer. After East Carolina scored four more, Anderson made a three, and Broadnax hit a jumper to give the Owls their largest lead of the game, 70-52, with 7:29 to play.

But the Pirates would not go away. Patrick D'Arcy made a layup, and Emejuru hit two free throws. Broadnax extended Rice's lead with a jumper, but ECU went on a 13-2 run to pull within 74-69, with 1:59 remaining. However, the Owls made eight of nine free throws to keep the Pirates at bay and preserve the victory.

Jordan Riley led all scorers with 37 points on 14-of-29 shooting, and Demitri Gardner added 16.

The Stats
Rice connected on 49.1% (28-of-57) from the field, 42.9% (12-of-28) from three, and 60.0% (15-of-25) from the free throw line. Charlotte was held to 41.7% (25-of-60) from the floor, 21.1% (4-of-19) from three, but was 23-of-26 (88.5%) from the free throw line. Rice also outrebounded the Pirates, 36-to-34.

What Head Coach Rob Lanier Had to Say
"I'm just proud of the guys for going on the road and getting a win against a team that's coming off a big road win. I thought offensively, we set a good tone in the first half. But we turned it over down the stretch and allowed them back into the game. We got off to a good start in the second half. A lot of guys contributed. Our perimeter guys were all in double-digits. But, down the stretch, we could have done a cleaner job of finishing the game. But I'm proud of the guys for playing hard enough and together enough to find a way to win.

Notes
• Rice improved to 9-12 on the year, and 3-5 in the American Conference.
• Rice moves to 9-9 all-time against East Carolina.
• The Owls are 4-4 all-time in Greenville.
• Rice has won three straight conference road games for the first time since winning four straight during the 2022-23 season.
• Rice scored at least 80 points for the second straight game and the seventh time this year.
• Rice made 12 three-pointers, the 10^th time this season it made at least 10 threes.
• G Jalen Smith led the Owls with 21 points and tied a career-high with five three-pointers.
• It was his second straight 20-point game.
• It was also his 13^th double-figure scoring game this year, and the 26^th of his career.
• G Nick Anderson scored 19 points on four three-pointers.
• It is his 17^th double-figure scoring game this year, and the 63^rd of his career.
• G Trae Broadnax recorded his second career double-double, scoring 16 points and pulling down a season-high 10 rebounds.
• It was his team-high 19^th double-figure scoring game this year, and the 91^st of his career.
• G Cam Carroll scored 14 points and had a team-high five assists.
• It was his 10^th double-figure scoring game this year.
• F Jimmy Oladokun, Jr., grabbed eight rebounds.

Next Up
Rice closes its North Carolina swing this Saturday, Jan. 31, when it travels to Charlotte. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPNU.