Last home game a loss to TCU
The men's basketball team attempted to atone for an evening of sin in the final 52.1 seconds Wednesday night.
Unfortunately for the Owls, the last-minute appeal did not gain them a deathbed reprieve, and Rice dropped into the purgatory of a 70-67 loss to Texas Christian University in the final Southwest Conference game played at Autry Court.
The Owls, who had trailed for almost all of the game, tried to rally from a 67-59 deficit with three-point baskets from Tom McGhee and Robert Johnson, a steal by Shaun Igo and three missed free throws by TCU.
They closed to 68-67 with 15.1 seconds to play, but TCU's Jeff Jacobs converted two free throws, and the Horned Frogs suffocated the Owl three-point threats on Rice's final possession.
"I'm really proud of our guys making it a close game and never giving up, but we have to find chemistry and unity and a little bit more determination," Head Coach Willis Wilson said.
The final flurry was not enough to overcome 31.4 percent shooting from the field, 10 missed free throws and poor interior defense.
Rice, who finishes up the regular season schedule by playing at Baylor University Feb. 28 and at Texas Tech University March 2, fell to 13-11 on the season, 5-7 in the SWC.
The Owls are guaranteed no better than a fourth-place seed at the SWC Dr Pepper Classic March 7-9 in Dallas.
TCU, who swept the season series, improved to 12-14, 3-9.
"Little things are the things that mean so much to our basketball team," Wilson said. "When you are depleted and don't have the depth and the prototype at every position, you have to do a lot of unusual things.
"When that's the case, sometimes you have to play more perfect than anybody should expect to win a basketball game. Tonight, we were far from perfect."
TCU used a pair of 7-0 runs and a 7-1 run to build a 38-30 halftime lead.
The Horned Frogs were successful at getting the ball inside -- they scored 10 of their 15 first-half baskets from inside the paint.
The Owls were limited because Shaun Igo played only two minutes in the first half, thanks to foul trouble, and Kevin Nanney played only seven, thanks to his leg injury.
As a result, T.J. Armstrong often ended up matched against much taller players.
Rice, on the other hand, also looked to be getting high-percentage shots -- but they just did not fall.
"We really just didn't shoot the ball well at all," Owl swingman J.J. Polk said. "We were getting great shots, our nickle and dime shots, but we weren't making them."
The Owls looked as though they were going to make their run several times in the second half.
They cut the TCU advantage to four on four occasions in the first 17:25 but could not get any closer, until the final, unfulfilled rally.
"We were trying to make a run at them in the second half, but we couldn't get it done," Polk said. "You have to make defensive plays in order to make a run, and we couldn't get any back-to-back defensive stops."
McGhee, playing in his last home game, finished with 16 points. Johnson added 15 points. Scott Oliver, who set career highs with 16 points and 19 rebounds to carry the Owls down the stretch against Texas A&M University last Saturday, scored 12 points.
This item appeared in the Sports section of the February 23, 1996 issue.
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