The Rice Thresher

Location: http://the.ricethresher.org/sports/2007/01/19/men_basketball_beat_houston

January 19, 2007 > Sports > Men’s basketball beats Houston

Men’s basketball beats Houston

Owls overcome 24-point deficit to stay undefeated in conference

By Chris Pasich | Thresher Editorial Staff

Late Wednesday night, Rice students stormed the floor at Autry Court as the men’s basketball team completed a stunning comeback win over the University of Houston 76-71. Rice (9-7, 3-0 Conference USA) overcame a 24-point deficit with less than fifteen minutes left in the game, led by senior guard Morris Almond’s 19 second-half points, 13 of which came at the free throw line.

“It wasn’t about X’s and O’s,” head coach Willis Wilson (Will Rice ‘82) said. “It was about playing together [and …] digging our heels in and competing a little bit. We were just able to chip away one possession at a time.”

The Owls looked consistently confused trying to guard UH’s offense in the first half. With a flurry of motion on the perimeter, Houston found numerous clean, open looks from the three-point line in the first half, and they made 8 of 18 beyond the arc.

The Owls, meanwhile, had a host of problems. Following the lead of Marcus Malone, who spent most of the game guarding Morris Almond, a preseason All-American, Houston played physical defense, forcing contested shots and turnovers throughout the first half. By halftime, the Owls had managed only seven field goals compared to eight turnovers and faced an 18-point deficit.

“They’re just a scrappy team,” Almond said. “Quick hands, quick guards, and it was congested out there. Every time I got it on the wing and took two or three dribbles, Malone was right there, and they had help.”

The first five minutes of the second half looked like more of the same, as the deficit crawled up to 24 points at the 15-minute mark. At that point, the score was 55-31, and the game looked to be out of reach for the Owls.

However, Almond, senior center Greg Killings and junior forward Pauliuis Packevicius began attacking the paint persistently, posting up and shooting over the smaller Cougar defenders.

“We talked about what we needed to happen, what we needed to do to be able to get back in the game, and that was to go inside,” Wilson said. “And when Morris got in there and finally settled himself down we got going to the free throw line [and we started] making huge free throws.”

The Owls also began pressing the Cougars full-court, preventing Houston from setting up their effective offense. Practically every member of the Owls was diving for loose balls and raising havoc on defense. Senior guard Lorenzo Williams dove for a ball right under a Houston player’s feet, sophomore Rodney Foster went into the first row of the stands for a ball, and the big men hustled for any poor passes. Eventually, with a combination of physical defense, offensive confidence, and Almond’s free throw shooting, Rice took the lead with 2:17 remaining.

“Whether we were up 20 or down 20, coach told us that we were not going to be out of the game,” Williams said. “So when we got down 24 in the second half, we just knew we just had to play hard.”

The Owls finished the game off strong, continuing to press and hitting any open shots they saw. The final minutes of the game came with a flourish — center Greg Killings dunked over a defender, freshman guard Chris Hagan hit a layup to give Rice the lead, and Williams hit a three-pointer to help seal the game for the Owls. Combined with Almond’s stellar second-half performance, Rice pulled out the victory.

Packevicius, Killings and Almond all scored in double figures for the Owls, with Almond leading the charge with 28 points and Killings and Packevicius each notching 11. Almond also led the Owls with 11 rebounds, as Rice moved to 3-0 in conference play and 9-7 overall.

Prior to the comeback against the Cougars, Rice got its first road win of the season at East Carolina 64-47. The contest was almost a continuation of the recent game against Tulane, as the Owls used a team effort, helped by the recently resurgent and healthy Williams, to put away the Pirates. Williams scored 17 points and led the team with 5 assists.

“It’s been a great help,” junior forward Patrick Britton said. “Just one more ball handler and another scorer, which is something we’ve lacked earlier on in the year. He’s a senior, [and] that senior leadership is always a plus in conference play and on any Division-I basketball team.”

Going once again with their three-guard starting lineup featuring Almond, Williams and Hagan, the Owls jumped on East Carolina from the start. By the end of the first half, Rice had a 16-point lead. The Pirates struggled against the Owls’ defense, as they made only five shots in the entire first half, shooting a measly 16 percent from the field. Although Almond had an off game — he shot 5-15 from the field — the rest of the Owls stepped it up, as Rice shot 43 percent on the night.

“Other guys just came out aggressive and made shots early, which made the defense be honest to everybody,” Williams said. “Once they did that, Morris got going, he was just shooting wide open three-point shots. It’s just everybody being aggressive and gaining confidence.”

The Owls are back on the road on Saturday to face the University of Central Florida (13-4, 2-1 C-USA). The Golden Knights beat the Owls in their only contest last year, a 77-64 defeat at Autry Court. Rice then returns home to face the University of Texas-El Paso (11-7, 3-1). The last time the Miners visited Autry, the result was a tightly contested 73-71 loss in front of a national television audience on ESPN. Both games are critical for the Owls’ success this year, as another loss will greatly hamper whatever chance they may have at making the NCAA tournament.

End of article

Back to top