MEN'S BASKETBALL: Two home victories boost Owls

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by George Dethlefsen

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Instead, Head Coach Billy Tubbs brought his fast-paced, full-court pressin', three-point heavin', guns smokin' style of play into Autry Court to take on Rice. The result was the most exciting Rice home game of the season.

TCU raced out to a 15-5 early lead, due in large part to a tight, full-court press which forced the Owls into multiple turnovers and quick shots. Rice would rally to 34-31, but at the intermission, the Horned Frogs were leading 43-34.

The first half was marred by some absolutely horrendous officiating which brought the worst out of the crowd of 2,152.

After calling traveling on senior center Shaun Igo, the referee failed to call a foul on a TCU player that virtually tackled Igo.

Then, on the next trip down the court the referees called Igo for a hand check. The keys came out of the home faithful's pockets in full force. It was an unfortunate twist to what had been an entertaining first half.

The momentum swung greatly in the second half. With 16:23 to play in the game, freshman center and crowd favorite Alex Bougaieff grabbed a tough rebound in the paint, put it back up for two and was fouled.

After completing the three-point play, Rice had cut the deficit to a mere point at 47-46.

With the score tied at 65 with 7:16 to play in the game, senior guard Eric Singletary notched a rare four-point play, in which he nailed a three-point basket and was fouled, to give the team a 69-65 advantage.

So far, the action had been relatively tame compared to what would follow.

With the scored tied at 78 and 17 seconds to play, Singletary realized that the play Rice was attempting to run had broken down.

At that point he took matters into his own hands, drove the lane and put up a wild left-handed runner (he is right-handed) which found the bottom of the net to give Rice an 80-78 edge.

When asked about the shot after the game, Singletary said he was accustomed to that sort of shot.

"When I'm messing around in practice, I shoot that kind of shot all the time," the 6-2 guard revealed, much to the chagrin of Head Coach Willis Wilson, who could only shake his head and smile.

Just when the crowd thought the Horned Frogs were dead, a basket off a missed shot pulled TCU even with 6.1 seconds remaining in the game.

After receiving the inbounds pass, senior guard J.J. Polk took the ball all the way downcourt and connected on a running one-handed shot with less than a second to play in the game.

Polk is no stranger to last-second heroics. Last year versus Southern Methodist University, Polk sealed a win with the same type of shot.

Polk talked about the situation after the game, saying, "I saw the set they were in. They let me catch the ball, and at that point I knew the shot was mine."

The emotional win upped Rice's overall season record to 9-8 and their Western Athletic Conference record to 3-4.

Many fans wondered how Rice would respond Saturday night versus SMU after such an emotionally draining performance only two days earlier.

In a closely contested struggle, the Owls bested SMU by the score of 62-58.

After battling to a 30-30 tie in the first half, Rice opened the second half with eight straight points by Igo to take a 38-32 lead over the Mustangs.

Down the stretch, Rice led by a score of 58-56, and with the shot clock under 35 seconds, the Mustangs committed a costly gaffe.

It is customary for teams to foul late in the game to get the ball back, but although Head Coach Mike Dement was screaming for his players to foul, they did not do so until 15 seconds had ticked off the clock.

Singletary could not convert on the foul shot, but Igo hauled in the rebound and was fouled with 7 seconds remaining. Igo connected on both shots to give the Owls a 60-56 lead.

A basket by SMU guard Stephen Woods pulled SMU within two points, but Singletary redeemed himself with 1.7 seconds to play by making two free throws and preserving the victory.

Singletary expressed his on-court confidence after the game. "I feel real confident in those situations. I wasn't nervous, but I was sort of befuddled that I missed that first one [the first shot of a one-and-one with nine seconds remaining]."

Wilson commented on how SMU held guards Troy Matthews and Jameil Rich out of the Tulsa game the previous Thursday so that they would be ready to play their best against Rice.

"People are doing everything they can to beat Rice. It seems like everyone is grabbing every weapon and every tool and throwing the kitchen sink at Rice. That's not an enviable position to be in," Wilson said.

The win moved the Owls to 10-8 overall and 4-4 in conference play, a much more enviable position than when they started the week.

The team had a chance at revenge last night when they took on Tulsa University at home. From there they travel to Fresno State University tomorrow to take on the Bulldogs.

This item appeared in the Sports section of the February 7, 1997 issue.

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