Road trip takes toll as men's basketball drops two

By Ryan Glassman     2/17/11 6:00pm

For a team whose two leading scorers are both underclassmen, the Rice men's basketball team has not looked like a young and inexperienced team on the road in the conference this season. After a turbulent 0-4 start to conference play, the Owls impressively bounced back with consecutive road wins against University of Central Florida and Tulane University after trailing in the second half of each game. But if this past week of basketball taught us anything, it's that this young Rice team still has room to improve when matched up with experience-laden teams in the heat of conference play.

Matched up against a pair of veteran squads, the Owls dropped back-to-back road contests this past week against University of Alabama-Birmingham and Marshall University to fall to 11-14 on the season and 3-8 in conference.

The task at hand on Saturday was no small one, as Head Coach Ben Braun brought his team into Birmingham, Ala. to take on the Blazers (18-7, 8-4 C-USA), an NCAA tournament hopeful with a roster full of juniors and seniors. But for the first 30 minutes, you would not have known which of the two teams had tournament experience and stood atop the C-USA. Led by 12 points from sophomore forward Arsalan Kazemi, Rice jumped out to a four point lead at intermission as they forced eight UAB turnovers and got strong scoring from the bench. The one player keeping UAB in the game was guard Jamarr Sanders, whose 18 points in the half on 4-8 shooting from deep prevented the Owls from having a double digit halftime lead. But in spite of the poor perimeter defense, Rice was showing resolve on the road and had the Blazers on their heels early.

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The Owls took their biggest lead of the game on a layup by junior guard Connor Frizzelle four minutes into the half, but a Sanders layup and foul at the first media break again kept Rice from extending the lead. Senior guard Cory Pflieger's deep three-pointer at the shot clock with under twelve minutes left put Rice ahead by five, but as was the theme all night long, Jamarr Sanders would respond promptly for UAB. His deep three-pointer from the corner cut the Rice lead to two and ignited a 16-5 Blazers run fueled from beyond the arc. Plagued by opponents' shooting from behind the line all season, the Owls were again undone by their defense on the perimeter. UAB would hit four three-pointers in the run to take a 60-54 lead with 7:25 left, but Rice showed the resolve to keep it close down the stretch. After a pair of free throws from Kazemi, Frizzelle drew a foul and cashed in on his trip to the line to pull Rice within one at the 3:50 mark. It appeared the Owls would have a chance to take the lead after a Sanders jumper drew iron, but a critical offensive rebound allowed the Blazers to run another 30 seconds off the clock before a dunk by forward Ovie Soko gave them a three-point lead.

The Owls would have their chances in the final two minutes to pull within one or tie the game, but the team could not capitalize on the stops they got on the defensive end. Rice missed four consecutive field goals on possessions late in the game and were forced to foul, where UAB converted late free throws to pull away for a 74-68 victory. But make no mistake about it; the game was won by UAB from behind the 3 point line. The Blazers, led by a career-high 37 points from Jamarr Sanders, hit 12 three-pointers in the game to bury Rice and pull away at the end for the win. Kazemi led the Owls with 17 points, while Frizzelle dropped in 14 and Tamir Jackson contributed with 13 points and five assists.

A Wednesday night game in Huntington, West Va. spelled more of the same for Rice, as Braun's team found themselves in another dog fight in the second half. After trailing by as much as nine early in the half, Jackson's three with 11:53 left capped a 19-8 Owls run to give Rice a two point lead. After Marshall free throws tied the game at 45 with just under nine minutes left, Kazemi got the ball on a fast break and went up for the dunk.

The attempt was no good, however, and Marshall converted a fast break of their own for a dunk to take the lead and pull momentum in their favor. Jackson, who finished with 21 points for the game and 17 points in the second half alone, brought the game within a point at the 6:27 mark, but the Thundering Herd made more plays down the stretch and fought off any attempts by Rice to take the lead back.

Starting with a three from Dago Pena to make it a 58-53 game with 2:39 left, Marshall went on an 11-0 run when the Owls were 0-4 from the field and without an offensive rebound. On the other end, Rice could not stop their opponent and gave away numerous fast break buckets that put a win well out of reach. Marshall executed their offense down the stretch while the Owls struggled to find baskets, as the Herd pulled away for a 72-61 victory.

Rice plays host to Memphis tomorrow at Tudor Fieldhouse at 8pm.

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