Recap vs. Rice

It wasn't supposed to be this hard for the Wave. Going into halftime with a 36-24 lead against a 3 win Rice team, the second half was supposed to closely resemble the first. However, on the heels of a 20-4 run to begin the second half, the Owls unthinkably took a 4 point lead with 12 minutes left in the game.

Benched at the outset of the game for being late to a team meeting, David Gomez began to assert his will on the Rice frontmen and hit four free throws in a row to give the Wave a 1 point lead with 10 minutes left that seemed to stop the bleeding. The game then swung back and forth until two steals and dunks by Donnie Stith finally put Rice away with 3:41 left.

The Owls never got closer than 4 points the rest of the way and the Wave defeated Rice 61-56. Gomez led the Wave with 17 points, 11 of which came from the free throw line and Johnny Mayhanne and Matt Wheaton had 8 apiece. It was a very sloppy game on both sides, with each team committing 21 turnovers. After shooting 50% from the field in the first half, the Wave shot just 26% in the second. However, despite the struggles, the Wave still managed to come out with their first conference victory at home.

Stat of the Game: 11-13 FT's for David Gomez. Arguably, it was Gomez's presence in the post that kept Rice from pulling the upset. The undersized Owls frontline could not handle Gomez, especially in the second half.

Player of the Game: Donnie Stith/David Gomez

Quote of the Game: "Very good win. We're still trying to find our identity as a team. It's always good to get a win playing the way we played in the second half." - coach Dave Dickerson