Dec. 29, 2006

Final Stats

Moraga, Calif. - Rice senior Morris Almond, the nation's leading scorer, made 13 second-half free throws, including five in the final 26 seconds, to propel the Owls to a 67-62 come-from-behind victory Friday in the consolation game of Saint Mary's Shamrock Office Solutions Classic, played at McKeon Pavilion. Almond was just 9-of-20 from the field, but scored 36 points in the contest, including 29 of Rice's second-half 37 points.

Almond additionally scored 13 straight at one point as Rice trimmed a 10-point deficit, tying the game at 55-55 after an Almond trey with 3:32 left in the contest. Western was able to regain a two-point lead (59-57) thanks to two free throws by Jake Robinson with 1:07. However, Almond's 3-pointer with 55 seconds left put the Owls in front by one for their first lead since early in the second half. Nick Aldridge, who was named to the Classic's All-Tournament Team, answered with a layup for Western's last lead of the game (61-60) with 38 ticks remaining.

Almond, who scored eight straight inside the final 55 seconds, was fouled shooting a jumper and drained both from the charity stripe. Aldridge tried to answer with two free throws on the other end, but missed the first and made the second as WCU trailed by one with seven seconds left. Almond as then fouled on the inbounds play and sank both for a three-point Owl cushion (65-62). Rice fouled Antonio Russell near half court, but he missed the first free throw and purposefully missed the second. The attempt did not hit the rim to give Rice possession. Chris Hagan was fouled with three seconds remaining and sealed the 67-62 victory by making both free throws.

In the first half, Western played well early, leading by four (13-9) at the 11:08 mark. However, a pair of 3-pointers by Cory Pflieger and a jumper by Paulius Packevicius turned the table to put Rice up four (17-13) two minutes later. With 7:42 remaining in the first half, Robinson drained a 3-pointer, trimming WCU's deficit to two (20-18), but those points would be Western's last for over five minutes, not scoring again until a Brandon Giles layup at the 2:25 mark. During the Catamounts' dry spell, Rice would lead by 12 before Gile's points. Western would then score the final five points of the half, thanks to a Kyle Greathouse 3-pointer and a Giles layup, and the Cats trailed 30-25 at the break.

The Catamounts build on that momentum to start the second half, charging out on a 21-6 run over the first nine minutes to take a 10-point lead (46-36). Russell scored 11 during the stretch, including a four-point play. Almond got Rice back on track with a 3-pointer as the Owls kept their deficit in single digits the rest of the way.

After scoring 28 points on Thursday, Aldridge scored a team-high 15 and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Aldridge was just 4-of-10 from the field, but was 7-of-11 from the charity stripe, and the freshman came through with three steals. Giles provided a spark off the bench for Western, scoring 12 points, his most versus an NCAA Division I team. Russell, who tied a career-high with eight rebounds, finished with 11, all coming in the spurt to start the second half.

Almond was the only Owl in double figures with Pflieger adding nine points by making three treys in the first 11 minutes of the game.

Western Carolina, who is in the midst of a four-game road swing, will stay on the road to face South Carolina on Wednesday (Jan. 3). Tipoff in Columbia is set for 7:30 pm. The Cats will then host UNC Greensboro on Saturday (Jan. 6) at 2:00 pm before hitting the road again for three more contests.