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Men’s basketball drops opener to Golden Bears

By Michael Kidd     11/18/15 9:11am

After coming off a thrilling 102-78 home exhibition victory over LeTourneau University, the Owls men’s basketball team traveled to Berkeley, California to take on the No. 14 University of California, Berkeley. With a 2015-16 roster made up of just three upperclassmen, many of the players experienced facing a top-15 college basketball program for the first time. The Owls were defeated by a final score of 97-65 on Friday night, but they gained valuable experience to draw from for the remainder of the season. 

Rice was greeted at Haas Pavilion by the roars of 10,530 fans. The raucous atmosphere didn’t faze the Owls at the start as the team came out and stuck right with their opponent. By the 14:19 mark of the first half, Rice led 14-11 with six quick points by true freshman guard Marcus Evans. However after that point, California caught fire running off a 23-4 run over the next eight minutes of play to take a commanding lead. However, the Owls put on a run of their own in response. Rice outscored Cal 14-4 over the next 4:16  to cut the lead to 10 with just 1:56 left in the half. Rice would take a 16-point deficit into halftime. 

Head Coach Mike Rhoades acknowledged the close lead in the first half but said the loss was due to a lack of momentum.



“We cut it to 10 with the ball, but they scored the final six points of the half,” Rhoades said.  “The best way to have momentum is to take it into the half, and we didn’t do that. We didn’t shoot very well. We shot it a little better in the second half ... Now we have to do a better job.”

As the course of the game progressed, the Owls could not keep up with the hot California offense that also kept Rice in check defensively. California shot 50.7 percent for the game while Rice shot just 36.7 percent. 

Sophomore transfer forward Egor Koulechov led Rice with 19 points and also registered eight rebounds in 31 minutes of play. Evans contributed 18 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor to give himself 42 combined points through just two games this season. The Owls were 15-22 from the free throw line and showed ball control by committing just nine turnovers for the game. California held the advantage in 3-pointers 10-6 and a clear rebounding advantage 48-30 which contributed to their 97-65 victory.

Rhoades is now in his second year at the helm of the Owls, and said the young team needs more games to adjust to college play.

“We didn’t play well today,” Rhoades said. “I thought we were selfish with the ball. We have a lot of young guys [and] it’s a lot harder to win in college basketball. They just figured that out. We’ve got to get a lot better.” 

Before the regular season began, Rice was already down two key players at the guard position to knee injuries, freshman Chad Lott and Preseason All-Conference USA guard Marcus Jackson. With their absence, the remainder of the team will need to work hard and play extra minutes even while running a fast-paced offense and a high-pressing defensive scheme. 

In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Rhoades said the team will rely heavily on freshmen.

“We’ve planned a schedule this year to throw our freshman in the fire,” Rhoades said. “We’re really throwing them in the fire now. We’re going to figure it out and keep moving forward [regarding the injuries] … There is no other way to do it.” 

Koulechov, a native of Volgograd, Russia and former member of the Israeli national team, is entering his first season with the Owls. He said he feels a deep connection with his teammates and enjoys the mutual respect granted by his coaching staff. 

“My favorite thing so far about [transferring to Rice] is just the connection we as players have with the coaching staff,” Koulechov said. “It never feels solely as basketball or business; it is something beyond that and it’s a great thing to have.” 

Koulechov said he shared Rhoades’ sentiments about the team’s selfishness.

“We can’t play selfish, and [we] can’t do it by ourselves,” Koulechov said. “It takes a team effort and I think we didn’t play for each other on Friday. We will definitely fix that.” 

Following their trip to California, the Owls return home for their home opener against Oregon State University on Thursday, Nov. 19. The game will be televised on the American Sports Network. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. 

Thresher Sports Writer Aaron Shi contributed to this article.



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