Men's basketball loses to Aggies

By Luke Samora     11/18/13 6:00pm

The Rice men's basketball team fell short Friday, Nov. 15, losing to Texas A&M University 68-65 in College Station. Both teams had multiple chances to take the lead throughout the game, but the score remained close. Ultimately, with the game tied at 65-65 and 10 seconds left on the board, Texas A&M sunk a game-winning 3-pointer to give the Aggies the win.

Starting sophomore guard Keith Washington did not play in the game due to personal reasons. Fellow sophomore guard Max Guercy, who almost put up a double-double with 17 points and nine assists, said the team missed Washington.

"He could have helped [with] distributing the ball," Guercy said. "He brings a lot of energy to the team. When he's in the zone, he can help us a lot, and it hurt not having him there."

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Freshman guard Marcus Jackson said that, while the game was close, a loss is still a loss and is tough for the team to accept, knowing it was so close to an upset win.

"It was very hard to lose [that game]," Jackson said. "I put all the blame on us for not keeping our foot on the gas pedal."

When asked whether he had experienced any pre-game jitters before his first start, Jackson said he felt better after the game was over.

"Coming out of the game, I [feel] more confident," Jackson said. "I just need to stay more confident in order to help my team pull out the win."

The Owls are set to play at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi Wednesday, Nov. 20. Corpus Christi plays in the Southland Conference and currently has a record of 3-2.

The Corpus Christi Islanders' junior guard John Jordan, who is averaging 17 points per game, and senior forward Zane Knowles, who is averaging 10.4 rebounds per game, have been strong players throughout their season so far. Corpus Christi also has only three incoming freshmen, compared to Rice's seven. 

After playing Corpus Christi Wednesday, the Owls will return to Tudor Fieldhouse to play Princeton University. The Tigers, who play in the Ivy League, currently have a 1-1 record. Their win came against Florida A&M University in a 67-50 victory. They have one close 70-67 loss to Butler University. Junior forward Denton Koon is averaging 19 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and has shot 50 percent this season. Sophomore forward Hans Brase, who averages 10.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, has been a major contributor for the Princeton Tigers this year along with Koon.

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