Men's basketbll focuses on ECU
Were it not for University of Houston guard Aubrey Coleman, who played perhaps the finest twenty minutes of basketball the men's basketball team has seen all year, Rice's execution and patience on the offensive end would in all likelihood have ended the team's two-year losing streak against its crosstown rival. The Owls (8-15, 3-6 Conference USA) and the Cougars (15-7, 6-3 C-USA battled back and forth Saturday night at Hofheinz Pavilion, but after the seventh lead change with just 3:21 to go in the game, Houston pulled away for the 72-65 victory.
Coleman, playing in his first year for the Cougars after transferring from Southwest Mississippi College, scored 21 points in the second half against the multiple defensive sets the Owls employed to force the ball to one of his teammates. Even with the added defensive attention, Coleman drove to the basket seemingly at will or displayed his mid-range game and made baskets from locations all over the court.
Senior guard Rodney Foster did his best to keep the Owls in the game, scoring 20 points and dishing out four assists. Unfortunately, his effort was not enough to save his team from defeat.
This Saturday, the Owls will attempt to leave last weekend's disappointment behind them when they travel to Greenville, N.C., for a rematch against East Carolina University. In their first meeting of the season on Jan. 31, the Owls built a 19-point lead in the first half and hung on to beat the Pirates (12-11, 3-6 C-USA) 76-70 at Tudor Fieldhouse in January.
In their most recent 89-75 victory over the University of Central Florida, East Carolina forward Jamar Adams scored 25 points and guard Sam Hinnant added 15 off of 5-9 shooting from the three-point line.
The Pirates have played considerably better within the confines of Mingles Arena, where their record is 9-4 on the year.
A key to Rice's victory over the Pirates just two weeks ago was perimeter defense. The Owls held the trigger-happy Pirates to 11-31 shooting from behind the arc, well below their C-USA-leading season average of 41 percent.
The Owls capitalized on the poor shooting, out-boarding the Pirates 44- 37 in the game.
Controlling the glass and limiting opponents' second chance opportunities has been a significant story line for Rice this season. The Owls have outrebounded opponents by an average of five rebounds per game during each of their victories, yet have averaged seven fewer rebounds in their losses.
In the loss to Houston, the Owls played well enough to have a chance at winning with five minutes left, but a series of missed defensive rebounds and put-backs by the Cougars effectively put the game out of reach.
Outside of the final minutes, the Owls have improved markedly in rebounding and points scored in the paint over the past three games, mainly due to the emergence of senior forward Aleks Perka and sophomore center Trey Stanton.
During this stretch, Perka has averaged over 15 points per game and had his second career double-double against the Pirates.
"[Head] coach [Ben Braun] got us in the mindset of being aggressive in the practice and in the games," Perka said. "We saw that in most of our games the guards were scoring 75 percent of our points. We took offense to that and our hard work has started to show."
Against the Cougars, Perka scored ten points and Stanton added 11 to go along with a season-high 13 rebounds.
To make up for their struggles rebounding the ball, the Owls have devoted nearly a third of their practice time in recent weeks to drills designed for increasing their efficiency around the glass.
One drill, called "circle the wagon," mimics game-type situations by spreading five offensive players around the court and forcing the defenders to rotate to a different player with each blown whistle. Once the ball is shot, the defender, often in transition, must find his man and box out for the rebound.
"It's competitive and everybody's going hard, because if you lose you have to run," Stanton said.
The rotational aspect of the drill creates awkward matchups for players with guards often boxing out forwards or vice versa, but has helped players become more accountable for their role on the court during a game each time the ball is shot.
Rebounding also helps the team push the tempo and score points in transition through quick outlet passes from the forwards to the guard, something Braun has tried to get his players to do all season.
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