Men’s basketball season ends

By Evan Neustater     3/11/14 5:36pm

The Rice University men’s basketball team finished its season on Tuesday, March 11, losing to the University of North Texas 63-62 in the first round of the Conference USA tournament.

The Rice University men’s basketball team finished its season on Tuesday, March 11, losing to the University of North Texas 63-62 in the first round of the Conference USA tournament. The game, which took place in El Paso, Texas, marked the final game of the season for the Owls, as they completed the 2013-14 campaign with a record of 7-23. Rice finished the season with an eight-game losing streak, culminating in Tuesday afternoon’s loss.

The Owls started the game strong and took a 30-21 advantage heading into halftime. Despite the first-half lead, Rice faltered in the second half when they were outscored 35-26. Tied 56-56 with seconds left on the game clock, sophomore guard Keith Washington put up a shot at the buzzer that did not fall through, sending the game to overtime.

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The Owls, who had previously been 1-1 in overtime games this year, started the extra period off strong and led for most of the extra five minutes. With eleven seconds on the clock, Rice held a 62-61 advantage until UNT junior guard Chris Jones knocked down two free throws, which turned out to be the game-winning baskets for the Mean Green. Down one with just seconds left, freshman guard Marcus Jackson put up a buzzer-beater that would have won the game, but it rimmed out at the last second.

Free throw shooting plagued the Owls all night, as they shot just 46.7 percent on 14-30 free throw attempts. UNT, conversely, shot 87.5 percent on such shots, going 21-24 from the line. Rice ended the game by missing four consecutive free throws in the final minutes of overtime, which could have secured the victory.

Head Coach Ben Braun said missing those free throws was one of the main reasons Rice lost the game.

“It’s just unfortunate that we [could not] knock down those free throws,” Braun said. “We really outplayed [UNT]. They were fouling us, and we just weren’t converting.”

The Owls’ scoring attack was led by senior guard Austin Ramljak, who finished his Rice career with 17 points on 5-of-11 three point shooting. Ramljak went 2-6 from the free throw line, however, including missing two straight attempts with 24 seconds left in overtime. Freshman forward Sean Obi also added 12 points and nine rebounds to end his freshman campaign, which included a spot on the C-USA all-freshman team in recognition of his play this season.

Braun also said he is optimistic about the future of Rice basketball, especially with so many young players like Obi coming back.

“I’m encouraged by what our young guys have done,” Braun said. “Obi made the all-freshman team and I’m excited for him. It’s exciting for Rice to have a standout player coming back next year.”

Braun said it is important for the team to remain focused in the offseason, because the team needs to mature before they can win in close-game situations.

“We’re going to be back [and] we’re going to be in this situation again,” Braun said. “We’ve got to secure those opportunities. That’s the sign of a veteran team.” 

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