Men’s Basketball Closes Out Non-Conference Slate At Rice

Rice has lost two straight and five of its last six games.

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Friday night sees the Texas State men’s basketball team closes out its non-conference portion of the schedule at Rice. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Tudor Fieldhouse.

The Bobcats enter the game 6-6 on the season while the Owls are 3-9.

Live stats and a video stream will be available for the game with links on the team’s schedule page. Bill Culhane will have the call on the radio with the game being broadcast on 1300 AM The Zone out of Austin and KTSW 89.9 FM out of San Marcos. Fans can also listen to the game through the iHeartRadio and TuneIn Radio apps on their mobile devices.

Nijal Pearson paces TXST with 14.0 points per game and is tied for the team lead, along with Tyler Blount, with 23 made three-pointers. The sophomore has made 40.5 percent from the field and 35.9 percent on long distance attempts. He ranks second on the squad with 6.1 rebounds per game and 13 steals.

Leading the Bobcats and the Sun Belt Conference with a 64.4 field goal percentage is Immanuel King while netting 9.7 ppg. The Rocky Mount, North Carolina native is also grabbing a team-high 6.3 rpg after retrieving a career best 13 boards on Tuesday.

Adding just over seven points a contest is Alex Peacock (7.7), Eric Terry (7.3) and Blount (7.9). Peacock paces the squad with 17 steals and an 81.8 free throw percentage. Terry enters the game with 10 blocks along with King.

Marlin Davis is dishing out a team-high 3.6 assists per game.

Scouting Rice

Rice has lost two straight and five of its last six games. The Owls are coming off a 78-69 loss at New Mexico on Tuesday. When playing at home, Rice is 2-3 this season with wins over St. Edward’s and St. Thomas and losses to Eastern Kentucky, Georgia State and UT Rio Grande Valley.

Connor Cashaw leads the Owls in scoring (16.5), rebounding (6.9), made three-pointers (21), steals (16) and minutes (31.5). The junior guard is shooting 38.5 percent from the field and 35.9 percent at the free throw line. He is second on the team with 2.6 apg.

A.J. Lapray is adding 11.1 points per game but the graduate transfer from Pepperdine has not played since Nov. 29 against UTA. Of the 27 made field goals by the Salem, Oregon native, 21 have come from beyond the arc in which he is shooting 44.4 percent.

Leading Rice with 3.5 apg is Ako Adams. He is scoring 8.6 ppg while shooting 30.3 percent, 20.0 percent on three-pointers but a team-high 82.1 percent at the charity stripe.

Adding 8.3 ppg is Robert Martin and Bishop Mency contributes 7.8 ppg and 5.1 rpg. Freshman Malik Osborne comes in average 5.8 ppg and 6.2 rpg with 29 of his rebounds coming on the offensive glass. 

All-Time vs. Owls

Friday will be the 10 meeting between Texas State and Rice. The Owls lead the all-time series 6-3 and have won five consecutive games. Last time the programs met was on Dec. 6, 2008 in Houston that saw Rice win 100-94 despite a double-double effort of 32 points and 10 rebound from John Rybak for the Bobcats.

The last win in the series for TXST came on Dec. 4, 1980 on the road 68-67. When playing in Houston, the Bobcats are 3-4 but have lost the last three meetings.

For the latest on Texas State men’s basketball, visit the official website of Texas State athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com, follow the team on Instagram and Twitter at @TxStateMBB and like on Facebook at /TexasStateMensBasketball.

Live Stats: http://www.riceowls.com/gametracker/launch/gt_mbaskbl.html?event=1560476&school=rice&sport=mbaskbl&camefrom=&startschool=&

Video: http://conferenceusa.com/watch/?Live=3781

Audio: http://txstatebobcats.com/watch/?Live=1427&type=Live

Game Notes: http://txstatebobcats.com/sports/2016/11/2/2016-17-mens-basketball-game-notes.aspx