Box Score UNO-Rice Box Score
UNO-Rice Photo Gallery
HOUSTON – Rice overcame 25 turnovers and a University of New Orleans school-record nine steals by
Generra Varmall to defeat the Privateers 83-49 on Saturday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Eight of Varmall's school-record steal total came in the first half, easily tying the UNO (0-2) mark of eight established by Ben Adams on Dec. 1, 2000 against Loyola before 20 minutes had passed in the game.
The junior guard from New Orleans broke the record in the second half with his ninth steal and also established a new Rice (1-0) opponent record, eclipsing the eight by Eric Coley of Tulsa on Feb. 14, 2000.
Adding to his defensive efforts, Varmall narrowly missed a points-steals double-double as he led the Privateers with 12 points.
Lovell Cook added another 10 points for UNO.
The Owls were led by preseason All-American candidate Arsalan Kazemi, who posted his 28
th double-double of his career with 11 points and 12 rebounds. The effort by the Iranian national team member coupled with 12 points by Julian DeBose lifted Rice on the night.
A slow start rattled UNO for the second straight night as the Privateers made just one of their first nine attempts from the field. Varmall sparked the offense with back-to-back baskets to pull UNO within four at 12-8.
The Privateers would keep the deficit in single-digits through most of the opening half by forcing 15 turnovers through 20 minutes. With the Privateers trailing 28-23 with four minutes left before the break, the Owls scored eight straight points to take a 36-23 edge into the second half.
The momentum from the closing minutes of the first half carried over into the second half.
Rice expanded its leads to a high of 36 points in the second half, shooting 62.5 percent over the last 20 minutes. UNO in comparison made just 6 of 22 attempts from the field for a 22.2 percent clip after halftime.
The Privateers welcome Selma (Ala.) to Lakefront Arena on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. for the second half of a doubleheader with the UNO women's basketball team. The home opener is the first of eight straight games to be played in the Crescent City for coach
Mark Slessinger's squad.
Tickets are on-sale and available by visiting the Lakefront Arena Box Office or TicketMaster.com.
NOTES
The NCAA does not keep stats on steals in half, though Mookie Blaylock holds the NCAA record with 13 steals on two separate occasions before embarking on a career in the NBA.
