Rice Owls frosh Julian DeBose hits game-winner, Owls edge UTEP

Posted: February 1, 2012 - 10:50 p.m. CST.

HOUSTON, TX (Tudor Fieldhouse) -- Rice Owls freshman Julian DeBose made his first basket of the basketball game at an ideal time Wednesday night. DeBose swished a double-pumped jump shot to give the Owls an exciting 77-75 victory over Conference USA foe Texas-El Paso in front of 1,305 fans.

After the game, DeBose described the scenario leading to the winning basket.

"I was upset at myself for getting back backdoor on the previous play; so, I felt I had to make up for it.

"So, when I got the ball, my first thought was to try to get to the rim; but, he cut me off. Pull up. I had no other choice but to shoot. Shot it. Made it."

DeBose explained the shot in more detail, "When I first pulled up, I couldn't see the rim that much because he had his hand directly in my face. When I double-pumped, he moved to try to get the block; and, I could see. Clear shot."

The game featured 26 lead changes and 10 ties.

The Owls (14-10 overall, 4-4 in Conference USA) led 72-65 in the final three minutes; but, back-to-back turnovers, helped the Miners erase the lead with eight straight points to lead 73-72 with 24 seconds remaining the game.

After a called timeout, the Owls superbly executed a high pick-and-roll which resulted in a Connor Frizzelle pass to a cutting Arsalan Kazemi. Kazemi dunked the ball; got fouled; and made the free throw for a 75-73 Owls' lead with 15 seconds on the game clock.

The Miners (10-12, 3-5) pushed the ball up the court and called timeout with 11 seconds remaining. As he mentioned, DeBose was beaten backdoor by Michael Perez; Perez received a pass but missed his shot off the glass. However, Miners' freshman forward Cedrick Lang rebounded the missed shot and converted a layup to tie the game at 75.

With no times-out remaining, Owls Dylan Ennis received the inbound pass and raced the ball up the court; and passed to DeBose with about five seconds remaining. DeBose dribbled down the sideline before launching his game-winning basket.

Owls head coach Ben Braun said, "With under 10 seconds to go, and we're down a point, they're not going to foul us. So, if our guys run the floor and space out, they're going to get open. I can screw them up by calling a play."

Jarelle Reischel, another of the Owls solid freshman class, scored a career-high 20 points in the game. Reischel shot 7 for 12 from the field and a perfect 3 for 3 from three-point range. He also added five steals.

Reischel very modestly said, "I think my biggest thing is confidence. I told myself I'm going to play with confidence. I've been working hard in practice and also on my own. So, adding a little confidence turned out to be big."

"I'm happy for these guys," Coach Braun added. "When you see guys who work hard in practice, play well in a game, that's appropriate. It doesn't always happen; but, I think it's a pretty good formula."

Arsalan Kazemi added 20 points to tie Reischel for team honors. Kazemi also added nine rebounds.

The Owls outrebounded the Miners 39-37 and shot a slightly higher field goal percentage (45.9% to 44.4%).

The Owls next game is Saturday, Feb. 4, at East Carolina. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. CST.