Defense is Key in Owls Win over Santa Clara

HOUSTON, TX (Tudor Fieldhouse) -- The Rice Owls used solid defense and balanced offense to defeat the Santa Clara Broncos 70-57 Wednesday night in front of an announced crowd of 1,556 fans. The win is the 1000th win in Rice's history.

The Owls (5-4) capitalized on a great scouting report from their coaching staff and, seemingly, recognized every play the Broncos called.

"We knew exactly what they were going to run," said Owls freshman forward Arsalan Kazemi. "Exactly."

The Owls picked up 17 steals in the game and outscored the Broncos 27 to 4 in points off turnovers.

Kazemi scored 12 points (4 for 8 from the field); grabbed seven rebounds; picked up two assists and four steals.

"Arsalan, down low, is a beast in my opinion," said teammate Connor Frizzelle.

Frizzelle scored a team-high 16 points (4 for 7 on threes) and dished out a season-high five assists.

The Owls snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory; and, senior forward Lawrence "Cliff" Ghoram

said the difference in tonight's game compared to the three losses was a more aggressive and smart mindset.

"I just wanted to be an energy boost; be aggressive; and lead by example," said Ghoram. "I just tried to take what defense gave me and do things I need to do as far as hitting jumpers and be aggressive at the three spot. 

"We needed this win to give us a boost." 

Ghoram scored 15 points (5 for 12) and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

The Owls led the Broncos 31 to 27 at halftime.

Frizzelle scored five points during a 9-0 run in the second half to give the Owls a 50-35 lead. The Broncos pulled within 11 points four times and 10 points once; however, Kazemi or Ghoram scored to keep the Broncos an arms' length away the rest of the ball game.

The Owls limited the Broncos to just 38.5% (10 for 26) shooting from the field in the second half and picked up 11 of the 17 steals.

"We did some really good things conceptually," said Owls head coach Ben Braun. "We hadn't played in almost two weeks (final exams); and, it showed a little bit early. But, we did fight through it defensively. I thought that was the difference in the game -- the second half our defense was better."