Big rally by Rice can’t stop final loss

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Rice Owls were shaking their heads while still holding them high as they walked off the court for the final time this season after a 79-69 loss to Charlotte on Wednesday in the Conference USA tournament.

The Owls were proud of their effort in storming back from a 14-point halftime deficit to take the lead with less than eight minutes to play. But that satisfaction was offset by the thought of how a suddenly winnable game slipped away down the stretch.

“That was a tough one,” Rice coach Mike Rhoades said. “In the second half, once we took the lead, we just didn’t get enough rebounds and enough loose balls. You need to make a couple of those type of hustle plays. We just didn’t scrap it out enough. We did enough to get back in it, but we didn’t do enough there at the end to win it.”

This mix of feelings was most evident in the performance of Rice guard Marcus Evans, who Tuesday was named C-USA Freshman of the Year. Evans finished with 27 points, 23 in the second half, and helped give the Owls (12-20) their second-half lead by scoring 10 consecutive points.

While Evans was unstoppable from two-point range, making all 11 of his shots from that distance, he also missed all seven of his 3-point attempts. That was part of an overall 2-for-18 shooting performance from beyond the arc by the Owls.

“We took a couple of quick shots early in the game, but in the second half we had some good open looks at 3s,” Rhoades said. “It’s a bummer because we’ve been shooting it pretty well the last couple of weeks.”

Evans bounced back from his four-point first half to score six points in the first two minutes after intermission, sparking the Owls’ comeback. But Charlotte (14-18) closed the game by outscoring Rice 18-8 over the final 5½ minutes.

Egor Koulechev scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Owls, and Andrew Drone added 15 points. Both players are expected to be back next season, along with Evans.

“There’s a lot to build on. We have a lot of young guys,” Evans said. “But obviously it’s tough to lose a game like that when you fought so hard to get back.”