Owls’ rally comes up short
Mean Green hit nearly 50 percent of 3s; Smart rips nets for 42 points
Down by five points with one minute, 41 seconds remaining, Rice seemed poised for another heartpounding finish Saturday at Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Owls, however, would come no closer.
Rice fell to North Texas 85-78 as a barrage of 3-pointers proved too much for the Owls to overcome.
“They did a pretty good job stretching us out,” Rice assistant coach Mark Linebaugh said. “They put us in some ball screens, and they took advantage of our rotation a little bit and drove some of the longer closeouts that we had.”
The Owls (4-14, 1-4 Conference USA) and Mean Green slugged their way through a tight first half, regularly trading the lead through most of it.
It was a balanced effort for the Owls.
At times it was freshmen Malik Osborne and Najja Hunter attacking the defense with authority. Other times it was veteran Connor Cashaw, who dropped a team-high 10 points in the half, and finished with 30.
Rice recaptured some of its early momentum when senior Bishop Mency drained a deep 3-pointer as the half expired. At halftime, Rice was on top 37-35.
Coming out of the locker room, North Texas (10-8, 3-2) seized control in the first five minutes. The Mean Green opened the half on fire from behind the arc and vaulted ahead 5141 before coach Scott Pera called a timeout to stop the bleeding.
Rice may have lost control of the game then had it not been for guard Ako Adams, whose timely drives and pull-up scores kept Rice in striking distance. He finished with 20 points.
“Defensively, we could’ve played better; I feel like that would’ve changed the outcome of the game,” Adams said.
Rice emerged from a timeout playing faster than before. The Owls wiped the offensive boards clean, giving themselves second- and third-chance shots. They cut the lead to six when Mency sank a corner trey, but North Texas continued to hit from deep.
The Mean Green shot 48.6 percent on 3-pointers (17-of-35). Roosevelt Smart did the most damage, hitting a school-record 10 3s on en route to scoring a careerhigh 42 points. DJ Draper had 23 points off the bench, making six of nine 3s.
“(Smart) is a great player … you can’t give him open looks like that,” said Cashaw, who has played against Smart several times going back to their high school days in Chicago.
Earlier this season, Rice might have faded away. Instead, the Owls matched the Mean Green, scoring a field goal or forcing a turnover to keep things close. With just under eight minutes left, Rice trailed 68-63.
With two minutes remaining, Rice narrowed the lead to three but it was Smart again, extending the lead from behind the arc.
The Mean Green’s strong second half was simply too much too overcome.
“I think for the most part we continue getting good shots and the kids continue to stick with the game plan … there was no panic in this group,” Linebaugh said. “As a coaching staff, that’s really exciting when you look big picture. Two or three weeks ago, I don’t think we would’ve put ourselves in position to fight back and give ourselves a chance to win the game.”