Written by
The Sports Network
Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Dylan Ennis scored a team-high 15 points and
handed out five assists as the Rice Owls topped the UCF Knights, 83-74, in a
Conference USA tilt at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Arsalan Kazemi contributed 12 points and eight rebounds as Rice (16-12, 7-6)
won for the third time in four games. Tamir Jackson chipped in 11 points and
Jarelle Reischel added 10 points in the winning effort.
Keith Clanton paced UCF (19-8, 8-5) with 18 points and seven rebounds. Isaiah
Sykes netted 15 points and Kasey Wilson scored 13 points off the bench as the
Knights.
UCF took a 49-37 lead into the intermission after it hit 70.4 percent of its
shots from the floor including 8-of-12 from beyond the arc in the opening
period. The Owls fell behind despite shooting a respectable 46.9 percent from
the field in the first half.
Rice battled back after the break by making 59.3 percent of its field goals
and converting 11-of-16 from the charity stripe in the second half. The
Knights cooled off and shot just 33.3 percent from the floor in the final 20
minutes. Ahmad Ibrahim made a layup with 6:12 left to play which gave Rice a
69-68 lead, which it would not surrender for the rest of the contest.
The victory gave Rice's head coach Ben Braun his 600th career victory at the
collegiate level.
GAME NOTES:
The Sports Network