HOUSTON - A costly turnover in the closing seconds prevented Prairie View A&M from a game-tying attempt as Rice claimed a 68-64 win at Tudor Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.
Both teams were evenly matched as Rice led 12-8 to open the first half only to see the Panthers turn a four-point deficit into a five-point (24-19) advantage behind eight points from senior guard
Montrael Scott. Unfortunately, the Panthers struggled to take advantage and saw the lead evaporate behind a slow offensive performance which saw them go scoreless over the final five minutes. Rice found its bearings and scored the final nine points of the half en route to a 29-25 halftime lead.
The Owls came out the locker room full of energy as the lead stretched to 37-29 after a pair of treys from Marcus Jackson. Sensing the game slipping away, the Panthers stepped up their defensive intensity and clawed back into the contest as
Tre Hagood picked up a pair of steals en route to chipping away at the deficit slowly. PVAMU held the Owls scoreless over a four-minute span and knotted the game at 40-all with 11:14 left after
John Brisco's driving layup. However, Rice answered with consecutive three-pointers and added a free throw in a 7-0 run which saw its lead increase to 47-40 with 8:38 remaining.
The Panthers once again fought back as Scott nailed a trey to draw within 47-43 with 7:41 left followed by a Brisco steal and two free throws from Jaryn Johnson to knot the contest at 47-all at the 6:38 mark. Senior post
Reggis Onwukamuche outhustled the crowd was fouled after an offensive rebound and moved PVAMU ahead 49-47 on two free throws. Rice answered with two free throws of its own and began a back-and-forth battle which featured three ties over the next two minutes.
With the game tied at 53 with 3:43 left, Rice moved ahead after a trey from Bishop Mency and began an 8-1 run which saw them lead 61-54 at the 2:10 mark. Prairie View A&M refused to quit though as Brisco nailed a pair of treys and a steal by
Charleston Dobbs drew the Panthers to within 63-62 with 20 seconds remaining. After a pair of Rice free throws to move on top 63-60 with 18 seconds left, the Panthers had one final chance to send the game into overtime but that opportunity never came as they were whistled for a five-second call on the inbounds pass. Rice hit 3-of-4 from the charity stripe to seal the win and end PVAMU's hopes of winning for the first time in the series.
Brisco led PVAMU with 20 points followed by 18 from Scott.
Karim York added 10 points and nine rebounds to round out the double digit scorers.
PVAMU will have little time to rest as the Las Vegas Invitational looms over the next week. The tournament kicks off with the Panthers traveling to Baylor on Friday evening at 6 p.m. in Waco. The contest will be broadcast live in Fox Sports Southwest.
