Strong shooting lifts Owls to win
Two days after Rice failed to complete a 22point comeback against Florida Atlantic, the Owls took their frustrations out on Florida International to earn their first Conference USA victory in a 92-78 win at Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday.
“I thought our guys … just did an unbelievable job of locking into the game plan and more importantly, being able to execute it almost flawlessly,” coach Scott Pera said. “This was a really big win for us.”
Ako Adams gave himself a pleasant birthday gift with a team and seasonhigh 19-point performance. Guards Chris Mullins (14) and Josh Parrish (18) submitted season-highs in scoring and Drew Peterson registered a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
After shooting at or below 40 percent in its last four games, Rice (9-8, 1-3) shot 52.9 percent from the floor and 40 percent from distance against Florida International (11-6, 2-2).
“For the first time in nine halves of basketball, we shot the ball like we’re capable of shooting in the second half,” Pera said. “I’ve heard a lot of clanks, so obviously I’m really happy to hear the swishes. And more importantly, I’m just happy they stayed confident.”
At its best, Rice’s defense begets long offensive runs.
A 16-1 run through the middle of the first half illustrated that on Saturday.
Rice scored 11 unanswered starting with a pair of Trey Murphy III layups. A Parrish dunk and an Adams 3-pointer followed Trejon Jacob’s free throw and capped the run. Rice led the entire game, but the run stretched its advantage from five to a game-high 18 with seven minutes remaining in the half.
FIU entered the game first in the nation in blocked shots and third in blocks per game — the team blocked six shots on the day. But the Owls bested the Panthers scoring in the paint in the first half, partially propelled by Parrish. He made his first start of the season as forward Robert Martin missed his second straight game (heel).
The Owls held FIU to 18.8 percent shooting from deep in the first half (and 24 percent in the game), but they hardly fared better in the period (22.2 percent).
That changed in the second half.
Five of Rice’s first seven baskets came from deep. Through the first five minutes of the half, the team shot 71% from distance and opened its lead back to 18. They shot 58.8% in the period.
FIU cut the deficit to single-digits just once when Jacobs’ 3-pointer trimmed it to nine with 7:34 remaining. But unlike Thursday, the Owls closed out the game and made seven of their final nine shots.
“You could definitely say that this was a response to Thursday,” Parrish said. “For this game we just wanted to come out with some energy and a lot of effort, especially being on a four-game losing streak. We wanted to come out and give the first punch.
“We’re getting back in our groove. We had a great start and after the (holiday) break we came out a little sluggish. But after this game I feel like we’re going to get back to normal.”