Evee’s buzzer-beater rescues Owls
The outcome was going to be decided one way or the other on Travis Evee's 10-foot runner.
A buzzer-beater would give Rice a dramatic onepoint victory over UTEP. If the shot attempt failed, the visitors would leave Tudor Fieldhouse ecstatic.
Evee drove the length of the court and hit the lefthanded floater just before time expired, lifting Rice to a breathtaking 83-82 win over the Miners on Saturday afternoon, predictably igniting an on-court celebration.
“I'll never apologize for being happy and excited, but I'm really happy for the whole Rice basketball community,” said Rice coach Scott Pera, who was a pleased participant in the court storming.
UTEP had positioned itself to perhaps sneak away with the win. Tae Hardy, who scored a team-high 20 points, made two free throws on a one-and-one to give the Miners an 82-81 advantage with six seconds remaining.
A couple turnovers by the Owls in the final minute played a huge role in losing a five-point lead with 46 seconds left.
The only question was who was going to take the final shot for the Owls, who fell behind as many as 10 points in the first half and trailed 41-38 at the break. Prior to the gamewinning basket, Evee had 19 points. Quincy Olivari had 23, making eight of his final nine shot attempts.
“It was either me or Travis,” Olivari said. “I trust him as much as he trusts me, and he made it happen.”
Evee took possession of the ball, got a ball screen from center Max Fiedler, and went toward the basket, getting his shot off outside the paint just in the nick of time. Evee put a great touch on the ball, hitting nothing but net for his 21st point of the Conference USA game, and completing a two-game season sweep of the Miners.
“It felt good leaving my hands,” said Evee, who was 8-of-16 from the field. “It was a tough angle, but I believe I can make that shot. When it left my hand, it felt pretty good. It was an emotional game to win by one at the buzzer.”
Due to being banged up physically, the 6-1 junior guard missed the previous two practices.
“We needed him today,” Pera said. “I knew he would come and compete. It's just a great, fun memory. An exciting game.
“A good player made a good play. We were fortunate it went in and there was a lot of fun with that atmosphere in Tudor Fieldhouse. You can see the excitement in the program. We have a fun team to watch.”
Fiedler contributed 12 points and collected four of the team's seven steals.
Hardy was clutch for UTEP, going 6-of-13 from the field, 4-of-9 on treys. The 6-3 junior guard, who added five of his team's 13 steals, made all four of his foul shots. If not for Evee's late-game heroics, Hardy would have been the story.
A nice complement to Hardy was Shamar Givance. The point guard was good for 16 points and 10 assists.
UTEP took 19 more shots from the field, making 35-of-70. Rice committed 19 turnovers against 12, but the Owls were more prolific from long range. Helped by Olivari's 4-of-6, the Owls made 10-of-23 3pointers. UTEP was 4of-18.
The Owls (12-5, 3-3) defeated the Miners (9-8, 2-4) in El Paso 72-67 in overtime on Dec. 31.
Evee and Olivari got rolling in the second half. Rice got back into the game on back-to-back-to-back 3pointers to turn a 53-47 deficit into a three-point lead. Consecutive 3-pointers from Olivari tied the game, and Evee's trey put the Owls in front 56-53 with 12:56 remaining. Evee added a jumper and Olivari's driving layup made it 6053.
In its previous game, Rice lost at home 71-68 to Middle Tennessee. The win by the Owls on Saturday got them back to .500 in conference.
“I don't know what the rest of the season will look like — wins and losses — but I know we're a formidable opponent,” Pera said. “We're somebody that teams don't take lightly.”
Rice 83, UTEP 82
UTEP (9-8)
Frazier 1-4 0-0 2, Onyema 2-5 0-2 4, Solomon 6-10 0-0 12, Givance 7-11 2-4 16, Hardy 6-13 4-4 20, McKinney 7-14 0-0 14, Sibley 1-3 0-0 2, Kalu 3-5 0-0 6, Dos Anjos 1-2 0-0 2, Lemus 0-0 2-3 2, Hamilton 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 35-70 8-13 82.
RICE (12-5)
Fiedler 5-5 2-2 12, Evee 8-16 3-3 21, Mason 4-8 0-0 10, Olivari 8-12 3-4 23, Sheffield 1-3 3-4 5, Huseinovic 2-5 0-0 6, Lieppert 0-0 1-2 1, Lewis 1-1 2-2 4, Akuchie 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 29-51 15-19 83.
Halftime: UTEP 41-38. 3-Point Goals: UTEP 4-18 (Hardy 4-9, Frazier 0-1, Sibley 0-1, Givance 0-3, McKinney 0-4), Rice 10-23 (Olivari 4-6, Mason 2-2, Huseinovic 2-4, Evee 2-9, Sheffield 0-2). Fouled Out: Givance, Mason. Rebounds: UTEP 29 (Onyema, Solomon, Givance, Sibley 4), Rice 29 (Olivari 9). Assists: UTEP 16 (Givance 10), Rice 12 (Fiedler, Evee, Sheffield 3). Total Fouls: UTEP 19, Rice 15. A: 1,991 (5,750).