The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, January 25, 2008 Page: 13 of 16
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THE RICE THRESHER SPORTS FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2008
13
Loss to Cougars extends cold streak for men's basketball
by Kushagra Shrinath
THRESHER STAFF
Losing is never easy, but it al-
ways stings a little more when
you lose to your biggest rival.
The men's basketball team suf-
fered such a fate with a 69-60 de-
feat at the hands of the University
of Houston Wednesday night at
the Reliant Arena. The loss is the
eighth in a row for Rice (3-15, 0-5
Conference USA) and means that
they will have lost their first five
conference games.
THIS WEEKEND
Rice vs. Southern Miss
When: Tomorrow at 4 p.m.
Where: Hattiesburg, Miss.
History: The Owls downed
the Golden Eagles last year
70-55 as Morris Almond
(Martel '07) lit upthe court
with 35 points and shot 67
percent overall.
The Owls will continue the
search for their first league win
tomorrow as they take on the Uni-
versity of Southern Mississippi at
4 p.m. in Hattiesburg, Miss. The
Golden Eagles (9-9,1-3 C-USA) are
in the midst of a downward spiral,
having lost six of their last seven
games, but that does not mean the
road to victory will be an easy one
for the Owls.
If the Owls hope to win, they
will have to contain sophomore
sensation Jeremy Wise, a guard
who is fifth in C-USA in scoring
with an 18.2 points-per-game av-
erage and is sixth in assists with
4.2 a game. Rice won the only
meeting between the two teams
last season with a 70-55 victory al
Autry Court.
Defense was not the Rice's
strong suit last Wednesday, but
their offense, which is the worst
in C-USA, finally rose to the chal-
lenge. Matching the Cougars shot
for shot, the first half was a tight
battle that saw nine ties and six
lead changes. Neither team led
by more than five and at the end
of the frame Houston went into
the locker room holding a slim
39-36 lead.
Rice then started the second
half with a quick 7-0 run which
included easy layups by senior
forwards Paulius Packevicius and
Patrick Britton to take a 43-39
lead. However, the Owls immedi-
ately allowed the Cougars to go
on an 11-1 run of their own to take
a 50-44 lead with 11:35 left to play.
Rice would never get within less
than three and clutch free throw
shooting by the Cougars in the
final two minutes, including a per-
fect 6-6 by Lanny Smith, sealed
the win for Houston.
"We had some really good looks
at the end," head coach Willis Wil-
son (Will Rice '82) said. "Houston
played aggressive defense and our
shots just didn't fall."
Wilson said he also believes,
however, that much of the pressure
the Owls faced down the stretch
was from themselves.
"I thought tonight we just rushed,"
Wilson said. "There were times that
we thought the game was getting
away from us when it wasn't"
Despite 16 points and a career-
high 20 rebounds from Packev-
icius, the Owls' mistakes were
once again those one would expect
from a young and inexperienced
team. Rice committed twenty-nine
turnovers and had a difficult time
moving the ball against the press.
And just like its previous games,
Rice played two distinct halves,
shooting 48 percent from the field
in the first segment of the game
but dropping to just 25 percent in
the second half.
The opposite trend was ac-
tually found in Rice's previous
game — in a 61-56 loss at Tulane
University last Saturday in New
Orleans, the Owls trailed by as
much as twelve in the first half,
but held a small lead in the sec-
ond half before folding down the
stretch. The score was knotted
at 48 with 6:11 remaining before
the Green Wave (13-6, 3-2 C-USA)
swiped a pass from freshman
Bryan Beasley and slammed an
easy dunk to take a lead they
would not relinquish.
Just as they struggled holding
onto the ball against UH, the Owls
could not seem to get a grip on the
basketball when they played Tu-
lane, turning it over 21 times.
"Our nemesis continues to be
turnovers," Wilson said. "In a
game like [Wednesday], giving
yourself a few possessions can
make a big difference. Some of
it is what we see from defenses
and some of it is the decisions
that we make."
A CLOSER LOOK
Statistics for the 2007-2008 men's basketball season (through Jan. 25)
RICE
OPPONENTS
Scoring
1002
1252
Points per game
55.7
69.6
Field goals-att.
.....J..—..-. - —
344-945
428-1037
Field goal pet.
.364
.413
3-polnt field goal-att.
60-226
118-373
3-point field goal pet.
.265
.316
Free throws-att.
254-399
278-400
Free throw pet.
.637
.695
Assists
169
280
Assists per game
9.4
15.6
Turnovers
388
295
Turnovers per game
21.6
16.4
Steals
130
188
Steals per game
7.2
10.4
Blocks ;
,J:
$
mm
Blocks per game
3.8
3.2
4
DEIAN TABAKOV/THRESHER
Senior forward Patrick Britton fades away for the shot in last Wednesday's contest against UH. Despite Britton's 14 (
points and five rebounds, the Owls were unable to put away the Cougars, falling 69-60 to remain winless in C-USA.
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Whitfield, Stephen. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, January 25, 2008, newspaper, January 25, 2008; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443110/m1/13/?rotate=270: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.