HOUSTON – The Rice Owls surged in the second half on Friday night at Tudor Fieldhouse to take a 71-64 win over the East Texas A&M University men's basketball team.
 
Both teams were evenly matched with the Lions holding a lead for 16:12 of the game, but the Owls went on a 14-4 run in the second half to go up double digits and held a lead as big as 15 in the game.
 
Despite the Lions getting the margin down to five points in the final minute on an 8-0 run, they drop to 1-3 on the season, while the Owls improve to 2-2 overall and 1-1 against Southland Conference opponents this season.
 
The largest lead in the game for East Texas A&M was six points, which came with 10:24 left in the first half, but the Owls held a 26-25 lead at the half.
 
Noah Pagotto (Wollongong, Australia) had team-best 14 points for the Lions, shooting 5 for 5 from the field and 4 for 4 at the line. He also had team-best five rebounds, as did Josh Taylor (Atlanta, Ga.) to go along with eight points.
 
Ronnie Harrison (Forney) was the other Lion to reach double digits, scoring 10 points, while the Lions scored 22 points to just five for the Owls.
 
East Texas A&M shot 49.1 from the field, 4 for 15 from deep, and 8 for 13 at the line. Rice went 47.1 from the field, 11 for 21 in three-point attempts, and 12 for 15 in free-throw attempts.
 
Four of the five Rice starters reached double digits with Jalen Smith leading the way, totaling 18 points as well as five rebounds and three steals.
 
UP NEXT
The Lions are back home on Wednesday to host Dallas Christian at 6:30 p.m. before playing their next three away from Commerce. Tickets can be purchased at LionAthletics.com/tickets.