Basketball drops two conference games

By Kevin Mohanram     2/4/15 4:04pm

The Rice University men’s basketball team suffered two consecutive losses on the road this week to the University of Houston 48-59 and the University of North Texas 65-75.

Although Rice and Houston were tied 22-22 at halftime, Houston managed to pull away in the second half, outscoring the Owls by 11 points despite Rice shooting 55 percent from the field. Head Coach Mike Rhoades said loss of focus was an important factor in the defeat against Houston. 

“Once again we got off to a good start,” Rhoades said. “I thought it was one of our games where we just lacked enough focus to continue through the game. We did some good things early, got it going a little bit, but we just allowed Houston too many extra shots. We weren’t as aggressive on both ends of the court as we have been in the near past.”

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Rhoades also said the team came out strong against North Texas, but once again played a weaker second half. Despite scoring a season-high 15 three-pointers and recording their highest-scoring first half of the season, Rice’s offense stagnated in the second half. Rice led 45-37 at halftime, but was held to only 20 second-half points on 21 percent shooting while the Mean Grean scored 38 points. 

“We played a great first half, but they are a very talented team,” Rhoades said. “Our defense was just okay. We had a lot of confidence going into the second half … We just did not get off to a good start [in the second half]. Then it became a dogfight, and we just allowed them too much confidence [and too many easy scores] throughout the second half. 

The Owls have two upcoming road games against Marshall University and Western Kentucky University. Rhoades said the team needs to improve its practices to win key road conference games.

“We just [have] to have a really good week of practice and prepare to pull these games out,” Rhoades said. “They’re both good programs, but you know it’s league play, so you have to find a way to win on the road.”

Rice’s next home game is on Thursday, Feb. 12 against Middle Tennessee State University.

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