WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State erased a double-digit second-half deficit and had the ball with a chance to tie in the final seconds, but Rice held on for a 66–64 win Wednesday night at Charles Koch Arena.

Wichita State (9-7, 1-2) trailed by as many as 13 points midway through the second half before mounting a furious rally behind Michael Gray Jr. and Kenyon Giles. Wichita State cut the deficit to two in the closing seconds, but could not convert on its final possessions as Rice (7-9, 1-2) snapped a three-game losing streak.

Gray Jr. led Wichita State with a career-high tying 25 points, including 18 in the second half, and added 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Giles chipped in 13 points, while Emmanuel Okorafor scored 10 points and grabbed five boards. Karon Boyd had his fourth double digit rebounding game with 10 boards.

Wichita State shot a season-worst 29.8 percent (17-for-57) and just 6-for-22 from beyond the arc. Wichita State committed only seven turnovers, but was dominated in the paint. The undersized Owls outscored the Shockers 34-18 in the paint and nearly outrebounded Wichita State.

Rice used a strong finish to the first half to take a 28-25 lead into the break. The Owls closed the half on a 9–2 run over the final 1:19, capped by Jimmy Oladokun Jr.'s layup off a turnover and a late jumper from Trae Broadnax.

The Owls continued to build momentum early in the second half, stretching their lead to double figures on Broadnax's fast-break layup at the 15:02 mark to make it 43-31. A Cam Carroll three-pointer at 11:26 gave Rice its largest lead of the night at 49-36.

Wichita State responded with defensive pressure and timely shooting. Gray Jr. sparked an 8–2 run with back-to-back three-pointers, trimming the margin to seven. The Shockers continued to chip away at the free-throw line and on the offensive glass, eventually tying the game at 56-56 on Gray Jr.'s driving layup with 4:31 remaining.

Rice answered immediately. Carroll knocked down a pull-up three following a Wichita State turnover, and Broadnax followed with a driving layup to push the lead back to seven with 2:32 left.

The Shockers had one last push. Gray Jr. scored five points in the final 10 seconds, including free throws after an offensive rebound, to cut the deficit to three at 66-63. Wichita State forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play and the Shockers looked like they had a potential game-winning four-point play from Gray Jr., but the foul was called before the shot wiping off the game-tying three-pointer. He would make the first and intentionally missed the second to try and get an offensive rebound, but the Owls grabbed the rebound and drew a foul.

Rice would miss the front end of a one-and-one with just 2 seconds left, leaving a Gray Jr. half court attempt to win it at the buzzer but it came up well short.

Up Next
Wichita State wraps up a two-game homestand on Sunday vs. North Texas at 2 p.m. on ESPNU.