FRISCO, Texas– The Rice Owls (14-12) entered the preliminary round of the Conference-USA Tournament with a familiar foe; with two matchups during the year, Rice had already beaten the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (8-17) twice. Beating a team 3 times is never easy, but Rice looked confident from the jump.
A second-half surge by Southern Miss put Rice on the ropes, but they fought their way back. Led by Max Fiedler, Rice used a 14-0 run late in the game to seal a 61-52 victory. Fiedler scored 9 of his team-leading 17 points in the second half. An all-around performance, he finished with a double-double with 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 steals.
Southern Miss never got their shot going from the perimeter, hitting on just 2 of 14 attempts. Early on, it seemed their defense would be enough to keep them in the game. They forced 18 Rice turnovers on 8 steals while blocking 4 shots. Unfortunately, their shooting was just not on par with Rice. They finished shooting just 38% from the field.
Rice battles back after fumbling the lead
The first-half was one of the uglier halves of the season for both teams. Southern Miss scored a season-low 20 points by the half as they trailed by 7. That lead could have been much worse, but the defense also held Rice to a season-low first-half total. Keeping the game close was key.
In the second half, Southern Miss stormed out to an 11-0 run to take a three-point lead. DeAndre Pinckney led the way, scoring 8 of his team-leading 14 points in the second. The trio of Pinckney, Tyler Stevenson, and Tae Hardy combined for 37 points on the game.
Down the stretch, Rice was just too much on offense. As Pinckney and Southern Miss went cold, Rice got hot. Clutch three-point jumpers from Cavit Ege Havsa and Quincy Olivari took a tie game to a 6-point lead. In the final 3 minutes, Southern Miss committed 4 turnovers as Rice sealed the victory.
Rice will have a short turnaround, facing off with Marshall tomorrow at 6 PM ET. As the 6-seed in the West, they will need 3 more victories to receive the conference’s AQ-bid. If they win tomorrow, they will face UAB on Thursday for a chance at the semifinals.
Up Next
Rice vs. Marshall, Wednesday, March 10, Ford Center at the Star, Frisco, TX
