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Saturday, December 1, 2007 1:10 AM CST
Rice's rally denies Panthers
Owls hold Romain Martin to three points at Hawkeye Challenge
By STEVE BATTERSON Lee news service
sbatterson@qctimes.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa – An inability to capitalize on opportunities down the stretch forced the Eastern Illinois basketball team to stomach its fifth straight loss.
Rice scored the final eight points of the game to hand the Panthers a 55-49 loss Friday in an opening-round game of the Hawkeye Challenge at Iowa.
''We talked at the half about this game being there for the taking. It was even all night, back and forth, but we just didn't make the plays we needed to at the end,'' Eastern Illinois coach Mike Miller said.
''We got to the point where we needed to make one more play and we didn't get it done.''
Rice's winning margin was the largest for either team in a match-up which saw 13 lead changes and 10 ties.
''It was a game of short spurts and ours came at the right time,'' Owls coach Willis Wilson said. ''Both teams played a little tight, but I think that was a sign of both of us wanting it so much.''
Jasen Williams scored five of his game-high 20 points in the final 30 seconds to secure the first win of the season for Rice.
The 6-foot-3 freshman guard hit his fourth 3-point basket of the game to give the Owls a 53-49 cushion with :26 to play.
Williams knocked down a pair of free throws eight seconds later after Eastern Illinois missed a quick 3-pointer.
The Panthers (1-5) had erased a three-point deficit and used a pair of Romain Martin free throws with 2 minutes, 55 seconds remaining to open a 49-47 lead.
Following a pair of missed free throws at the other end, Eastern Illinois found itself with three opportunities but was unable to capitalize following a pair of offensive rebounds.
''I saw us pressing a bit at the end, especially on offense. We had guys trying too hard,'' Martin said. ''It's natural and something we have to work through and figure out.''
The Owls (1-4) didn't waste their next chance.
Patrick Britton drove the lane and was fouled with 1:25 left. His basket tied the game at 49-49 and his free throw put Rice ahead to stay.
''When it mattered most, they found a way to make the play,'' Martin said.
Mike Robinson was the only Panthers player to finish in double figures, hitting 4-of-9 shots to finish with 12 points.
The Owls held Eastern Illinois' scoring leader, Romain Martin, to three points on 0-for-9 shooting.
The teams traded leads nine times throughout a first half which ended with Rice holding a 27-25 lead as well.
A buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Williams provided the Owls with their lead at the break, erasing one-point edge the Panthers had taken on a jumper by Bobby Jolliff with :22 left in the half.
Steve Batterson can be contacted at (563) 383-2290 or sbatterson@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
Rice 55, Eastern Illinois 49
EASTERN (1-5): Robinson 4-9 2-2 12; Catchings 4-8 0-0 9; Laser 1-3 5-5
8; Anthony 2-3 2-4 6; Jolliff 3-7 0-0 6; Byrne 2-4 0-0 4; Martin 0-9 3-4 3; Cisse 0-2 1-2 1; Parrish 0-2 0-0 0; Willhite 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-48 13-17 49.
RICE (1-4): Williams 7-14 2-2 20; Britton 5-7 4-4 14; Foster 3-10 2-2 10; Pflieger 1-3 0-0 3; Braimoh 0-3 2-2 2; Ghoram 1-2 0-0 2; Packevicius 1-5 0-2 2; Perka 0-0 2-3 2; Beasley 0-1 0-2 0; Saunders 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-45 12-17 55.
Eastern Illinois 25 24 —49
Rice 27 28 —55
3-point goala: Eastern Illinois 4-13 (Robinson2-5; Laser 1-2; Catchings 1-1; Martin 0-5); Rice 7-20 (Williams, 4-8; Foster 2-8; Pflieger 1-3; Beasley 0-1). Fouled out: Eastern Illinois none; Rice none. Rebounds: Eastern Illinois 29 (Cisse 9); Rice 35 (Britton 8). Assists: Eastern Illinois 9 (Anthony 3; Robinson 3); Rice 10 (Foster 4). Total fouls: Eastern Illinois 17; Rice 18. Technical fouls; Eastern Illinois none; Rice none.
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