HOUSTON, Texas --- Houston Christian University grabbed a double-figure lead in the first half but went cold in the second half in falling to Rice University 65-56 at Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.
Bonke Maring hit two buckets and
Tristan Moore hit a three-pointer from the right wing to cap off an 11-4 HCU run to start the contest and force a Rice timeout. The Owls got four quick points out of the break, but HCU answered with a huge spurt.
HCU would hold the hosts to just one point over the next six minutes. Two
Michael Imariagbe baskets sandwiched a three-ball out of the corner by
Pierce Bazil that gave the Huskies a double-figure lead, 21-10 with 9:38 to go in the half.
HCU's lead would hover around 10 for the next few minutes before Rice made a burst. Travis Evee hit a three-pointer and followed it with a driving layup before Keanu Dawes hit a triple from the top of the key to pull the Owls to within five, 29-24 with 3:05 to go in the first frame.
The run would continue out of the media. A driving layup and another three by Evee tied the game at 29 at the 2:22 mark.
Marcus Greene would find a cutting
Porter Bazil with just over a minute to go, and the Huskies would carry that 31-29 lead into the intermission.
Dawes would get two dunks to start the second session, the latter giving the hosts their first lead since the opening bucket of the afternoon. Mekhi Mason followed with a three-pointer and a driving score on the break by Evee capped the 11-3 half-opening run, forcing an HCU timeout with 15:52 to go.
The lead grew to 11 after another Evee drive to the hole.
Jay Alvarez would stop the Rice outburst with an offensive putback just before the under-12 media, and the Huskies trailed 47-38.
A steal by
Marcus Greene and a breakaway score by
Jay Alvarez cut the lead to 10, 53-43 at the eight-minute media. A couple of stops and a couple of Greene buckets later, and the Huskies had cut the lead in half with under six to go.
The Owls would respond however with a quick seven points, capped by a Dawes three-pointer that pushed the lead back to 11, 60-49 with 4:11 to go. The Huskies would get no closer than eight the rest of the way, as the Owls held on for their second straight victory.
Neither team shot well on the evening overall. The second half was the big difference, as Huskies shot just 29% after halftime, while Rice managed 43% to eclipse the two-point deficit at the break. HCU was just 3-17 from the arc, and went 5-15 from the charity stripe, while Rice was 5-25 from three and shot just 12-24 from the line.
Marcus Greene bounced back from Monday night's tough outing at TCU, leading the Huskies with 17 points to go with eight rebounds and four assists.
Bonke Maring had nine points and tied for the team-lead in boards with eight.
Jay Alvarez had eight points and five caroms, and
Porter Bazil had career-highs in points and rebounds, with six and five respectively.
Rice was led by a trio in double-figures. Travis Evee had 18 points, while Mekhi Mason chipped in 17. Keanu Dawes had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Max Fiedler had a double-double with 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
HCU falls to 0-6 on the season. The Huskies will return to Sharp Gym on Wednesday night to host Southwestern Adventist University.
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