Punishing loss is a hit to Owls’ conference tournament hopes

Up by eight, Western Kentucky snagged a missed Rice jumper and scattered up court. Guard Taveion Hollingsworth missed a 3-pointer and teammate Justin Johnson collected the rebound, but his putback layup was summarily rejected by Rice’s Najja Hunter.

Johnson grabbed the rebound — then missed again. But the third time was the charm as he bulled his way through a forest of arms for his third consecutive offensive rebound of the possession, tipping in his own miss, leading Rice to call a timeout. Three minutes into the game, the Owls were being shut out and down by 10.

Rice (5-22, 2-12 Conference USA) fought back within reach early, but the Hilltoppers (20-7, 12-2 C-USA) pummeled them into submission by halftime in an 85-66 loss Saturday at Tudor Fieldhouse.

“I thought Western Kentucky dominated from the start,” coach Scott Pera said. “They’re a veteran, experienced older group … we had no answer.”

Three Hilltoppers had already scored by the time a Bishop Mency 3-pointer stopped the bleeding — if only temporarily — at the 16:35 mark.

Rice’s C-USA tournament hopes grow dimmer as a sixgame losing streak mounts with four games remaining in the regular season.

The Hilltoppers racked up 28 points in the paint, eclipsing Rice’s eight in the opening period, and finished with 44 to Rice’s 22. Western Kentucky shot 55.9 percent from the field and doubled the Owls’ points off turnovers (12 to 6) in the first half. Two players scored in double digits, and Johnson nearly recorded a double-double in the first 20 minutes.

By the final buzzer, WKU’s shooting percentage had slipped to 55.6 percent. They outrebounded the Owls 37-27 and saw five players score at least 11 points, led by guard Darius Thompson’s 18.

“They were clearly the more physical team as far as rebounding and when it came to post offense and post defense,” forward Malik Osborne said. “They just displayed more physicality than we did.”

Rice had shown steady flashes of progress late this season but looked overmatched from the tip. Still, hope isn’t lost yet. The Owls’ conference tournament shot may come down to their March 1 battle with 12thplace UTEP (8-18, 3-11 C-USA).

“I think these are four opportunities for us to end the season on a high note,” Pera said. “I don’t know what the win-loss will look like after those four, but I’m excited to play them.”