HOUSTON – Wayland Baptist trailed Rice by just 10 points with eight minutes to go, but the Owls pulled away down the stretch to record a 65-40 victory in men's exhibition basketball Sunday afternoon in Tudor Fieldhouse.
After falling behind 16-2 to start the game and trailing by as many as 17 early in the second half, the Pioneers – ranked third in the NAIA – put together a valiant comeback.
Wayland scored seven straight points, capped by a 3-pointer by
J.J. Culver, to get it to 10. The Owls then stretched it back out to 19, 46-27, before the Pioneers made another run, this time recording nine unanswered points with points on four straight possessions, again capped with a 3 by Culver.
But Wayland scored just two field goals over the final eight minutes of the game as Rice outscored the Pioneers down the stretch, 19-4.
"We played really hard today, Rice was just better than us," WBU coach
Ty Harrelson said. "It was a 10-point game with eight minutes left and it felt like we had momentum. Rice finished strong down the stretch. It's a credit to them."
The Owls (2-1) won their second game in as many days, having topped Penn on Saturday afternoon, 80-61. Rice dropped its season-opener on Nov. 5 to Arkansas, 91-43.
The 40 points were the fewest by a Pioneers team since falling to John Brown, 72-32, in the 1995-96 season.
"Defensively we held our own, but our offense was stagnant at times and we shot poorly," said Harrelson.
The Pioneers made 18-of-63 field goals (26 percent), hitting 3-of-16 3-pointers (19 percent). The game featured just seven made free throws, with Wayland hitting 1-of-5 and Rice 6-of-8.
Culver finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
CJ Obinwa and
Jack Nobles hit seven points apiece, and Nobles also got seven boards.
Rice, which outrebounded Wayland 51-34, was led by Trey Murphy III with 16 points. The Owls shot 42 percent (26-of-62) overall, including 27 percent (7-of-26) from 3-point range.
The Pioneers committed a dozen turnovers while Rice ended with 15.
"The good thing is playing a DI game early we can see some flaws in our game and work to get better," Harrelson said.
It was the fourth meeting between Wayland and Rice, the last time two years ago when the Owls won, 79-72.
The Pioneers – in the midst of a six-game road swing as part of a 10-game stretch when they play at home just twice – next travel to Forest City, Iowa, for the Waldorf Classic, facing host Waldorf at 8 p.m. Friday then Bellevue, Neb., at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Those are WBU's final two games before Sooner Athletic Conference play begins Nov. 21 at Southwestern Christian.
