Quincy Olivari's 2 clutch free throws gives Rice 65-63 win over Charlotte

UPDATED: January 27, 2023 -- 2:45 p.m. CST

POSTED: January 27, 2023 -- 9:34 a.m. CST

HOUSTON, TX (Tudor Fieldhouse) -- Thursday night, Rice senior guard Quincy Olivari hit 2 free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining to give the Rice Owls a 65-63 home win over the Charlotte 49ers. With the score tied at 63, Olivari was fouled by Charlotte's Lu'cye Patterson.

"Once I got the foul call, I was relieved," Olivari said after the game. "Because I was confident I would make both free throws."

Olivari's 2 free throws capped off his 26 points and 10 rebounds effort -- his first double-double this season.

"Quincy carried us," Scott Pera, Rice Owls Men's Basketball Head Coach said after the game. "Quincy carried us home."

Olivari nailed a 3-pointer to break a 32-32 tie. Then, freshman teammate Mekhi Mason converted a three-point play. Travis Evee swished a three-pointer to extend Rice's run to 9-0. Next, Rice big man Max Fiedler scored a left-handed layup before Olivari drained a pull up jumper to cap a 13-0 run.

Rice led 45-32 with 13:29 left in the ball game. The Owls led by as much as 15 (49-34) before the 49ers responded with a run to make the game tight down the stretch.

The 49ers (13-8, 4-6) answered with a 13-2 run to trim Rice's lead to 51-47 with 7:50 remaining in the game. The Owls turned over the ball 4 times during Charlotte's run.

"Live ball turnovers," Coach Pera remarked.

Olivari hit a 3 to stretch Rice's lead to 54-47. Charlotte scored 5 in a row to reduce Rice's lead to 54-52 with 5:43 on the game clock.

Mekhi Mason sank a jumper to begin a 7-0 Rice run. Olivari hit his 4th three-pointer of the game to cap the 7-0 run. Rice led 61-52 with 3:04 left in the contest.

Charlotte did not go away. The 49ers mounted another comeback to get within 62-60. After a Rice turnover, Charlotte freshman guard Nik Graves missed a layup in transition which would have tied the game at 62 with 30 seconds to go in the ball game.

Charlotte fouled Mekhi Mason. Mason made the first free throw but missed the second. Rice led 63-60 with 23 seconds on the clock. The Owls had 3 team fouls and elected to foul Charlotte 3 times to run time off the clock. After the 3 fouls, 16 seconds remained in the game.

Aly Khalifa, Charlotte's 6'11", 275-pound center hit a corner three-pointer to the game at 63 with 13 seconds remaining.

Coach Pera called timeout to set up a play. Olivari got the ball in the halfcourt with the clock winding down. He jumped to attempt a 3-point shot and was fouled by Patterson. Olivari didn't complete his shooting motion; so, he was awarded 2 foul shots instead of 3 shots.

"I didn't hear the whistle; so, I immediately passed it," Olivari admitted. "He hit my forearm."

Charlotte did not have a timeout; so, Patterson inbounded the ball into the frontcourt where Max Fiedler deflected the ball and the clock expired.

"I assumed they were throwing up to the big man," Fiedler said after the game. "I tried to make a play on it and got a piece of it. We move on."

"Max (Fiedler) read the play at the end," Coach Pera said.

Fiedler finished the game with 5 blocked shots, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.

"I call him a unicorn sometimes," Coach Pera said of Max Fiedler. "He's so unique."

Rice has won 4 in a row and improves to 15-5 overall and 6-3 in Conference USA.

"We made enough plays to win and that's what matters," Coach Pera summarized. "We won."

NEXT:

Rice's next game is Saturday, January 28, at home against UAB. Tip is set for 2 p.m., on ESPN+

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