Men's Basketball | 12/6/2015 12:42:00 AM

Exhibition Box Score

HOUSTON, Texas – Junior forward ETHAN GILBERT was perfect from the field as he tallied a career-high 17 points but St. Edward's still fell in an exhibition to Rice, 93-72, Saturday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.
 
Gilbert went 7-of-7 from the floor and was also perfect from downtown (3-3) during his career night. FRANKIE MGBOLU added 11 points while SEAN WATKINS tallied five assists.
 
Rice would start the game hot from the field as they raced out to a 15-2 lead in the first six minutes of the game. Max Guercy led the way with six points for the Owls.
 
St. Edward's would fight back as Gilbert hit a jumper and Mgbolu scored five-straight points to cut the lead to 17-9, with 11:40 remaining.
 
The home team took the hit and came right back at the Hilltoppers, extending its lead to 16 points with just under four minutes to play before halftime.
 
That's when St. Edward's finally started to find its shot from outside. JOHN GRAMLICH hit a three to start the run and Gilbert nailed a jumper and two shots from behind the arc as the Hilltoppers scored 11-straight points to cut the deficit to just five points with 1:44 remaining.
Two buckets down the stretch by Rice put the score in favor of the Owls, 4 
 2-33 at the break. Rice shot 56 percent from the floor in the first frame, but St. Edward's converted 15 points off of 12 Owl turnovers to keep the score tight.
 
In the second half, Rice took control of the game in the first five minutes as they opened with a 17-6 run that was capped off by two treys. The Owls held a 59-39 lead.
 
The Rice lead would stay above 20 points for the majority of the second half.
 
Rice would outshoot the Hilltoppers as the home team shot 64 percent (30-47) from the floor and 53 percent (9-17) from behind the three-point line. St. Edward's shot 41 percent (28-69) from the field, but struggled from the charity stripe, making just 47 percent (7-15).
 
The Hilltoppers will return to regular season play as they open up Heartland Conference play on Dec. 17^th against Newman. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Recreation and Convocation Center. The Hilltoppers swept the season series from the Jets last season, which included an overtime victory in the regular season finale in front of a packed house. Live video and stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.