Rice edged at home with Tulane last-second layup

By Brody Rollins     1/29/09 6:00pm

Editor's Note: check ricethresher.org throughout the week for sports updates. We'll post them at the top of the home page.Tulane guard Kevin Sims's last-second layup capped an improbable, come-from-behind, 61-59 victory over the men's basketball team Wednesday evening at Autry Court

Senior forward Aleks Perka hit the front end of two free throws with 6.4 seconds to go, tying the game at 59-59, but Sims drove from half court to the basket for the winning score. Junior guard Lawrence Ghoram tripped on the inbounds play, giving Sims a clear run at the hoop, where he split two Rice defenders and flipped the ball off the backboard while barely evading the outstretched arm of sophomore center Trey Stanton.

Pandemonium ensued on the Green Wave (9-10, 3-3 Conference USA) bench as officials checked the video replay to ensure the shot was taken during regulation.

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After trailing by as many as 19 during the first half, the Green Wave regained the momentum in the second by making eight of their first ten shots after the break. Tulane drew even with the Owls (6-14, 1-5 C-USA) at the six-minute mark, tying the score at 53-53 for the first time since the opening minutes of the game.

Senior guard and team leader Rodney Foster went down at the 13-minute mark with a sprained ankle after being hit on a contested layup underneath the basket.

Without Foster, Rice did not score a field goal for the final 9:55 of the game, during which time they lost a tenuous eight point lead.

"For us, [Foster] is the guy making things happen, and with him out that definitely hurt us," head coach Ben Braun said.

After shooting over 60 percent in the first half, the Owls were held to 18 shots in the second, making just six.

Tulane would not shoot much better, however. Sims' layup at the buzzer was the only Green Wave field goal in the final six minutes.

Perka, a 50 percent free throw shooter on the year, played the best game of his career in the loss, going 7-8 from the field for 15 points. In just 20 minutes of play, Foster scored 11 points and dished out a game-high six assists.

"We really had to be aggressive and look inside because that's where their weaknesses were," said Perka. "They wanted to stop us and that's why they pressured us outside, but we just didn't take advantage."

Kris Richard led Tulane in scoring 17 points and Sims added 14.

Both sides remained emotionally charged after the buzzer, leading to an altercation between teams that was settled when coaches and players were taken to their separate locker rooms.

Those involved in the fracas were not the only ones that needed to be escorted from the building. Sammy the Owl, Rice's mascot, was ejected for obstruction of play and ushered from the arena under a chorus of boos from the student section.

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