Men's basketball rallies against Baylor, too late for Texas

---

by Peter Howley

---

The team ended its season barely above the .500 mark with a 15-14 record and no post-season tournament invitations, a decline from last year's 18-10 mark and National Invitational Tournament play. With three players departing, Head Coach Willis Wilson will rely on returning lettermen, a newly eligible transfer and at least three recruits to carry the squad.

If the tournament play of sophomore guard Tommy McGhee is any indication, the Owls could have a bright future. McGhee stepped up against Baylor in the first-round game last Thursday in Dallas to lead the Owls in a second-half comeback that ensured their third win of the year against the Bears.

"Once I made a couple of shots, my confidence grew," said McGhee, who came off the bench to score 15 second-half points.

He added a career-high 21 points in 28 minutes during Friday's losing effort against Texas, a marked improvement over his 4.9-points-per-game average in the regular season.

McGhee's play wasn't enough to unseat the Longhorns, who beat the Owls twice during the regular season and again last week en route to both the SWC regular-season and tournament championships.

Texas jumped out to an early 7-0 lead with jumpers from their high-scoring guards, Terrence Rencher and SWC Most Valuable Player B.J. Tyler. Rice never recovered, as the Longhorn lead stretched to 23 by half-time.

"We really hurt ourselves in the first half," said Wilson. "We didn't really give ourselves a chance to win."

Texas Head Coach Tom Penders said, "This was as perfect a first half as we've had all year."

The Longhorns held Rice to 33-percent shooting in the period while hitting 49 percent of their shots. Their aggressive press yielded eight first-half steals.

Rice gnawed at the Longhorn lead throughout the second half, coming within eight points with 6:44 to play on guard Eric Singletary's jumper, but couldn't put Texas away. The final score was 101-89.

"They did all the things they needed to tonight. They certainly played like a top-25 opponent," said Wilson. "They can come at you so many different ways. They just wore us down and beat us up."

"[In the second half] we just came out and played. We just decided to take the challenge and try to do what it takes to win the game," he said.

Forward Torrey Andrews, who led all scorers with 26, said, "In the second half, we thought, `Hey, we have nothing to lose.' It was just simply about pride. We came up short but I think we made a valiant effort of it."

The Owls improved their shooting to 60 percent in the period while out-rebounding Texas 20-14. Texas grabbed 22 boards to the Owls' 15 in the first half.

The Owls' turnaround made an impression on Penders, who gave credit where it was due: "It wasn't the way we played that allowed them to come back, it was the way Rice played."

Other high points for the Owls were the play of center Shaun Igo, who scored 11 points in 11 minutes, and McGhee's seven-of-10 performance from the field.

McGhee's opening-game second half-heroics, which included seven-for-seven foul shooting, shouldn't have surprised the Bears, who faced a similar onslaught in Rice's Feb. 23 win in Waco.

In that game, McGhee scored 17 points and sunk two late free throws to edge the Bears.

In this game, it was point guard Kevin Rabbitt who sealed the Bears' fate with a pair of foul shots with 10 seconds to play.

Rabbitt went to the line after a foul by Baylor guard Nelson Haggerty to put an end to the numerous lead changes and fouls in the game's final minutes.

After Baylor made seven of 12 three-pointers in the first half to take a 14-point lead, Rice seemed destined to repeat the pattern of tournaments past, in which they bowed out in the first round all but three times.

"We didn't do all the little things in the first half and it was pretty glaring," said Wilson.

But a second-half charge led by McGhee, Andrews -- who added 16 points to lead all scorers with 27 -- and an assorted cast of Owls changed all that. A steal by Andrews on the opening play set the tone for the period.

"I felt in the first half that I was lethargic and didn't play team basketball," he said. "I was really pensive at half-time. That first defensive play [in the second half] really sparked us."

"[The Owls] just stepped forward and got the job done. Instead of being reactive, we were being proactive [in the second half]," said Wilson. "When you hit a couple of shots early on, things really start to click for you. It's a chain reaction when you get the confidence going."

Aided by 18-of-18 foul shooting in the second half, the Owls stole the lead back with 10:38 to play on Igo's lay-up. The teams stayed within three points of one another until Rabbitt made the final margin 85-82.

The Owls will lose starters Andrews, forward Scott Tynes and center Todd Schoettelkotte next season, hoping that a mix of newcomers and remaining veterans will allow them to improve on this year's showing.

"We have a lot we can learn from the guys leaving the program," said Wilson.

Versatile junior Adam Peakes should help the transition. The team's second-leading scorer, with 14.6 points per game, he led the Owls in rebounds, assists and steals.

Rabbitt will be another starter returning for his final season, while center Robert Glaze will be the old man of the team with four years in the program under his belt.

McGhee, Igo and freshman forward Jesse Cravens were all impressive reserves during the season, each averaging over 10 minutes of playing time -- but under five points -- per game.

This item appeared in the Sports section of the March 18, 1994 issue.

Copyright © 1996 The Rice Thresher. All Rights Reserved.
This document may be distributed electronically, provided that it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of:
The Rice Thresher, Rice University, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005-1892, USA.