Box Score

THE RUNDOWN
HOUSTON, Texas – St. Edward's outscored NCAA Division I Rice 50-41 in the second half but couldn't quite close the gap to pull off the upset. The Owls held on to take the victory Thursday at Tudor Fieldhouse, 91-86.

With 6:04 left, SEU freshman Corey Shervill hit a 3-pointer that trimmed the Rice lead to 80-79. However, the Owls countered with seven unanswered points, and SEU was only able to get within four points of the lead from that point on.

The Hilltoppers trailed by 14 at halftime, but then used eight second-half 3-pointers and out-rebounded Rice 23-13 in the second frame to make the game more competitive. SEU had trouble containing Rice's Connor Cashaw, who finished with 27 points, but 23 came in the first half.

SEU got a double-double from Shervill off the bench with 10 points and 12 boards. Dorian Lopez had 15 points, six boards and three assists while JAMES TAYLOR scored a dozen. SEAN WATKINS led all players with six assists and four steals.

Rice improved to 3-7 on the season with the win while the Hilltoppers counted the game as an exhibition.

HIGHLIGHTS
• SEU shot 51.4 percent from the floor in the second half including 8-of-17 from 3-point land to help the Hilltoppers outscore Rice in the second half, 50-41.
• The Hilltoppers turned the ball over 13 times compared to Rice's 16, and SEU turned Rice's miscues into 24 points.
• Dorian Lopez had 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting; he added six rebounds and three assists.
• Corey Shervill posted a double-double with a dozen rebounds and 10 points.
• JAMES TAYLOR scored a dozen points on 6-of-11 shooting.
• SEAN WATKINS led all players with six assists and four steals, and didn't miss a shot from the field, adding nine points.

STAT OF THE GAME I
32 – Rice earned 32 trips to the free-throw line and converted on 24 while limiting the Hilltoppers to just 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.

THEY SAID IT
SEU head coach Andre Cook on the team's effort at Rice …
"I was proud of the guys. That's one of the things we talked about at halftime is we need to be more competitive. More competitive on the glass. Obviously, this was an exhibition game for us. It's our first game back for us after exams. The big ones are Saturday and Tuesday, but I thought: no one played for more than 20 minutes, our second unit was competitive and, dang, they had a chance to win the game at the end."

Cook on the postgame exchange with Rice head coach Scott Pera …
"Everybody knows he was James Harden's high school's coach. Scott [Pera] is a really class guy. He told us, even before the game that he liked our team and the way we run our offense and our program. I like to think that's part of the reason why they invite us back. He said good luck the rest of the way, again he liked our team and Merry Christmas."

WHAT'S NEXT
No. 23-ranked Texas A&M-Kingsville will be looking for revenge vs. SEU as the Javelinas play host to the Hilltoppers Saturday at 4 p.m. SEU defeated then No. 20-ranked TAMK in Austin Dec. 2, 89-72.