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No. 11 Texas gets back on track by topping Rice

Dec 30, 2014 - 1:20 AM Austin, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Myles Turner scored 16 points while Jonathan Holmes turned in 12 points and 10 rebounds as No. 11 Texas topped Rice by a 66-55 count at Erwin Center.

Javan Felix contributed 10 points for the Longhorns (11-2), who recovered from a three-point overtime loss to Stanford last Tuesday.

Seth Gearhart's game-best 24 points weren't nearly enough for the Owls (3-8), who have lost two straight since winning two in a row. Marcus Jackson totaled 10 points in a losing cause.

"It's tough coming on the road to a place like this and playing against one of the best teams in the country at a level that we aspire to get to," Rice head coach Mike Rhoades said. "I'm very proud of our team."

Rivers' dunk with 4:44 left in the opening half was the last time Rice led by its greatest margin of three, 22-19. Texas finished the half with 10 straight points, including seven in a row from Turner, and took a 29-22 edge to the break on a pair of Cameron Ridley free throws.

The Longhorns managed to increase their lead to eight, 37-29 on a Felix layup, and were also up by that margin with 12:40 to go before the Owls awoke and trimmed their deficit to 53-51 on a pair from the line by Gearhart inside of six minutes to play.

Rice, however, missed three consecutive shots from long distance in the ensuing two-plus minutes, and Texas gained some breathing room when Ridley split a pair from the line and Holmes completed a three-point play to make it 57-51 with 2:50 on the clock.

Jackson missed a layup at the other end and Kendal Yancy converted his try and the following foul shot for a nine-point bulge, and the hosts cruised to the finish.

In the early stages, Texas led 8-3, but back-to-back triples from Jackson gave Rice a one-point advantage. The schools traded turns with the lead for the next several minutes.

Game Notes

Texas shot 48 percent (12-of-25) in the second half but just 43.4 percent for the contest ... Rice was sent to the free-throw line just six times and made five, while the Longhorns converted 17-of-27 from the charity stripe ... Jackson also picked up five assists and a game-high four steals.