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University of Houston
Rice
Cougars Fall to Rice, 62-52
12/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2003
Houston, Texas - Using a red-hot hand in the second half, the Rice Owls turned a tightly fought contest into a 10-point decision as the Owls defeated their inner-city rival Houston Cougars, 62-52, at Hofheinz Pavilion Wednesday night.
The first half featured four lead changes and two ties before Rice went into the halftime locker room leading, 27-24.
After intermission, the Owls used an 11-0 run in the first three minutes of the second half to seize control of the game. Rice led, 50-36, with 8:05 left to play before the Cougars mounted a 14-5 run of their own to close to with in 55-50 with 4:01 left to play.
But, that was as close as Houston would get. Lanny Smith missed a jump shot and the Cougars turned the ball over on their next two possessions.
That allowed Rice to increase its lead to 60-50 with 1:39 left and the Owls coasted to the victory.
Michael Harris led the Owls with 22 points and Jason McKrieth added 13 points. Brock Gillespie added 10 points.
Andre Owens scored a game-high 25 points, and Lanny Smith added 11 points and five assists. Senior Cougar center Anwar Ferguson blocked five shots for Houston and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Houston will look for its first win of the season when the Cougars play host to Lamar Saturday night, December 6, in Hofheinz Pavilion. UH dropped to 0-2 and the Owls improved to 4-1 in 2003-04.
