MEN'S BASKETBALL : Team hopes home stand helps boost conference standing

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by George Dethlefsen

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After falling to the University of Utah on Saturday, the Owls were 8-8 on the season and 2-4 in Western Athletic Conference play.

The BYU game was nip-and-tuck throughout, with the Owls leading most of the first half. Junior guard Bobby Crawford ignited the Owl offense early, connecting on three first-half three-pointers.

However, the Cougars were able to keep the score close, thanks in part to three-pointers of their own from Lance Archibald. At the half, Rice led 37-31.

Frighteningly customary for the Owls, a second-half swoon ensued.

The team shot only 35 percent from the field in the second half, a significant drop-off from its 58 percent first-half statistics.

Despite the cold shooting by the Owls, the game heated up late.

With 2:38 to play in the game, senior center Shaun Igo converted on a three-point play after connecting on a turnaround jump shot and being fouled.

However, on the following trip downcourt for BYU, center Jeff Campbell answered Igo's three-point play with one of his own.

The defining moment of the game came with just under two minutes to play.

Igo failed on a jumper in the paint, but junior forward Jarvis Kelley-Sanni collected the rebound and slammed the ball through the hoop with authority.

At that point, the momentum was in Rice's corner, as evidenced by the Cougars' inability to score a point the rest of the game.

BYU's Eric Nielsen's last-ditch three-point effort fell short of the mark, and the Owls escaped with a 62-59 win.

Once again, Igo paced the team in scoring and rebounds with 19 and seven.

Freshman forward Jody Lumpkin received 26 minutes of quality playing time and contributed 10 points and five rebounds.

Crawford limped his way to 11 points, as he is still not 100 percent healthy.

Coming off an emotional high Thursday night, the team had the unwelcomed privilege of traveling to Salt Lake City's Huntsman Center to take on the University of Utah Utes, currently ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press poll.

In front of 14,056 fans, the Owls were manhandled by the Utes, 78-58.

From the onset, the Owls could not compete physically with the big bodies of Keith Van Horn and Michael Doleac.

Van Horn, who figures to be a top-five selection in the upcoming NBA draft, slammed his way to 23 points, while Doleac had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The Utes took command early, using three consecutive three-pointers by Ben Caton and a slam dunk by Van Horn to take a 34-14 first-half lead.

Freshman forward Brian Beshara's layup closed the gap to 17 at halftime.

Utah coasted through the second half, pulling their star forward, Van Horn, with seven minutes remaining.

The Owls could not come within 17 points of Utah in the second half, and there were no doubts who the better team was that night.

Rice Head Coach Willis Wilson said after the game that he was disappointed for two reasons.

"One was our inability to go out and really play with intensity," Wilson said . "I think we had a little bit of a let-down following Thursday night. And I think the officials let the game get too rough too early. ... This game was way too physical."

If a bright side to the 20-point loss exists, it is that center Igo may have caught the eye of the several NBA scouts that regularly attend Utah's home games.

Igo scored 21 points in the game and prompted Utah's Head Coach Rick Majerus to say, "I love Igo."

The team will try to improve on its 8-8 record this week with two winnable home games versus Texas Christian University on Thursday and Southern Methodist University on Saturday.

This item appeared in the Sports section of the January 31, 1997 issue.

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