UTEP stifles men's basketball for second time
In what has truly been a season of peaks and valleys for the men's basketball team, never did the team fall further than after a Jan. 15 loss at the University of Texas-El Paso (18-5, 6-2 C-USA) in which the team managed to score just 43 points, losing by its largest margin of the conference season. The loss, which at the time marked the fourth in a row for the Owls, came largely in part to turnovers and atrocious shooting, both signs of a young team finding its way against one of the best teams in the conference. But the 23-point loss in El Paso, Texas proved to be an end to the slide, as Rice bounced back to win three of its next four games in conference to get back to .500 on the season. With a win at home over the University of Houston (11-11, 3-6 C-USA) sandwiched by road wins at the University of Central Florida (14-7, 1-7 C-USA) and Tulane University (12-9, 2-6 C-USA), the Owls quickly removed themselves from the cellar of the Conference USA standings.
With confidence riding high for Head Coach Ben Braun's squad, Rice was given a chance to avenge its ugly loss with the Miners coming to Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday. Led by 2009-2010 C-USA Player of the Year Randy Culpepper, UTEP faced a much stiffer test from the Owls than just a few weeks before. But, much to the chagrin of the Rice faithful, it was the more experienced Miners team that executed down the stretch to escape Tudor with a 59-53 win and sole possession of first place in the conference.
If you took your time finding your seat at the game on Saturday afternoon, you may have missed what appeared to be a disastrous start for the home team. Sophomore forward Arsalan Kazemi picked up his second foul just more than four minutes into the game and was forced to sit out for the rest of the half. On the following possession, the Miners hit their second three-pointer to take an early 10-5 lead, exposing the Owls' poor perimeter defense, a weakness for Rice all season. But Rice was quick to respond, as junior guard Connor Frizzelle and sophomore guard Tamir Jackson hit back-to-back deep balls to give their team the lead. Following another Frizzelle jumper, senior guard Cory Pflieger's three-point bucket pushed the lead to six and capped a 13-2 Owls run with 11 minutes to go in the first half.
The run, however, appeared to wake up the Miners' defensive intensity, as UTEP took advantage of its team's length and athleticism, as well as the absence of Kazemi on the floor, to force Rice into taking tough shots. The Owls went cold from the field in the remainder of the first half, as UTEP got back into the game quickly. Following a three-pointer from Culpepper, Rice surrendered the lead when Miners forward Julyan Stone's free throws with 3:30 left made it a 25-23 game. Pflieger's three-pointer with 16 seconds left put an end to the run, but Rice shot just 4-17 from the field to end the half trailing UTEP 27-26.
The Miners picked up where they left off to start the second half, as Stone and Culpepper helped push their lead to 40-30 with the Owls still struggling to shoot the ball. With Kazemi a non-factor in the post, Rice managed just 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the half, but stayed in the game with strong defensive play and rebounding. Following another Pflieger three-pointer, Kazemi's free throws pulled Rice within three, before senior forward Suleiman Braimoh's layup made it a one-point game with just under eight minutes left to play.
After watching their double-digit lead deteriorate in front of a loud road crowd in conference play, it was up to the Miners to prove their mettle and show why they are the top team in the conference to date. And just like elite teams across the country, UTEP did not do so with individual play, but overall team depth. Stone, who entered as the team's fourth leading scorer, averaging under nine points a game, continued to break down the Rice defense by slashing to the hoop and breaking the containment of the Owls. Stone, who finished with a career-high 23 points, got to the line on consecutive trips by breaking down the defense to get to the hoop and draw contact. Stone scored on consecutive possessions after his free throws put his team back up by five with 4:35 left. But the Owls responded once again, this time with their own leading scorer for the game, as Frizzelle, who tallied 13 points, followed two free throws with a steal to lead Rice on the break and get Kazemi a trip to the foul line with 1:47 left. With a chance to tie the game, Kazemi hit just one of two from the charity stripe, as UTEP got the ball back with its lead hanging by a thread. Following free throws from Stone, Rice had the ball back down by three with 1:19 to go in the game.
The play off of the timeout went to Jackson, whose drive to the hoop was cut off abruptly by an offensive foul call that gave the ball back to UTEP. Rice got a second chance to tie the game after the Miners turned the ball over with 35 seconds left. Again, the play went to Jackson, who penetrated but had his shot blocked by Stone. The rebound went to Kazemi, who got a decent look at a putback but saw the ball bounce in and out with just 14 seconds left. The rebound went to the Miners, as Rice was forced to foul and send UTEP to the line.
"UTEP is just such a good defensive team," Frizzelle said after his Owls were stopped by the Miners on consecutive possessions to put the contest out of reach. "The flow just wasn't there for us [on offense] all game."
After two free throws and a miss by Rice at the other end, the game ended with the Owls falling 59-53 to their first-place adversary. The Owls failed to move up in the standings and cling to a 11-12 overall record and 3-6 mark in conference play with seven games remaining. If nothing else, the loss presents Rice fans with a microcosm of the season thus far for the Owls. Just as there has been conspicuous improvement from the 2009-2010 season, the effort Saturday was one that was much improved from the previous meeting with UTEP a few weeks ago. It is undeniable that this season's team has made strides over the course of the season, and is headed in the right direction. With that said, inconsistencies on the offensive and defensive end go to show that the team is not quite ready just yet to compete for a top spot in the conference.
"We're pretty close, but now we have to get over the top," Braun said of his team's progress and standing among the top teams in C-USA. "I feel our team has made some strides, but we have room to improve still." The Owls are certainly playing better basketball then they did a year ago, but the close loss Saturday against UTEP goes to show that the ascent to the top is by no means an instantaneous climb.
Rice takes on the University of Alabama-Birmingham (15-6, 5-3 C-USA) tomorrow afternoon on the road, followed by a trip east to West Virginia on Wednesday, where the team plays Marshall University (15-8, 3-5 C-USA) for the first time this season.
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