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November 25, 2008

Late free throws get Rice past Hubbard, 65-53

By Shawn Edwards The Corsicana Daily Sun Tue Nov 25, 2008, 01:49 AM CST

HUBBARD — Coach Eddie Barker’s team will go into the holidays the way he had wanted — with a win.

Ahead by four points to begin the fourth quarter, the Rice Bulldogs pulled away from Hubbard with 13 made free throws to win 65-53 Monday at Jaguar Gymnasium.

Rice’s Sam Gunter hit seven of those free throws down the stretch to finish the night with 22 points while Jimmy Konieczny led the Bulldogs with 23 points.

“Sam and Jimmy are our seniors and we have to lean on them sometimes,” Barker said. “They stepped up tonight and made big free throws in the fourth quarter.

“It is big for us to go into the Thanksgiving holidays with a win.”

Trailing 29-24 at the half, Hubbard’s Jemichael Jordan was able to find his touch in the third, knocking down 4 of 5 shots from the field to put the Jaguars within four points headed to the final quarter.

Hubbard was led by Jordan’s 14 points in the game, with John Jones adding 11 and Cole Hill eight.

A quick steal and basket by Rance Bowers cut Hubbard’s deficit to just two points in the opening seconds of the fourth, but Rice took control from there, extending its lead to 58-51 on a Konieczny lay up.

The Bulldogs (2-1) were able to hold off the Jaguars at the free throw line in the closing minutes while Hubbard struggled to find the bottom of the net.

“We got in a lot of foul trouble early in the game and had a hard time coming back form it,” Hubbard coach Gregory Smith said. “We didn’t have the exact five I wanted in there the entire time, but we had a lot of role players step up and do a great job.

“The entire team played their hearts out.”

Juniors Cedrick Freeman and Blake Lewis controlled the boards for the Bulldogs throughout the game, combining for 30 total rebounds.

“I had a lot of help from Blake tonight,” Freeman said. “We are kind of working as a duo right now.

“For us, it is all about getting a win. We had to tough it out tonight, but we are getting better as the season progresses.”

The Bulldogs set the pace from the beginning, opening the game with a 6-0 lead. But the defense of Hubbard put the pressure on Rice, forcing turnovers and resulting in 11 unanswered Jaguar points.

Rice responded in the second to regain the lead before a baseline three-pointer by Hubbard’s Jones put the Jaguars back in front by one.

It was another Hubbard sophomore, Roddy Williams, adding a spark off the bench as he contributed four points and grabbed seven of his 12 total rebounds in six minutes of work in the quarter.

But Freeman rebounds turned into second-chance points for Rice, leading the Bulldogs to a five point advantage going into halftime.

“I will take a win at Hubbard any night,” Barker said. “This is probably the toughest place in the Golden Circle to play.

“They are a tough team and you can’t belittle the playoff tradition they have after going to the regional finals last year.”

Rice will remain on the road against Frost on Dec. 2. Hubbard goes back to work today against Chilton at 7:30 p.m. in Hubbard.

—————

Shawn Edwards may be contacted via e-mail at edwards@corsicanadailysun.com

Rice 65, Hubbard 53

Rice 8 21 15 21 — 65

Hubbard 11 13 16 13 — 53

Rice: Jimmy Konieczny 23, Sam Gunter 22, Blake Lewis 7, Cedrick Freeman 5, Hunter Thedford 4, Shaquille Fields 3, Mark Kirby 1.

Hubbard: Jemichael Jordan 14, John Jones 11, Cole Hill 8, Rance Bowers 6, Roddy Williams 4, Jordan Reinke 4, Darnell Lang 4, Matt Cabrera 2.

Records: Rice (2-1); Hubbard (0-2).

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Finishing touch

Late free throws get Rice past Hubbard, 65-53

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