HOUSTON (AP) - Marcus Evans and Egor Koulechov had 23 points each and Rice held a double-digit lead through the final seven minutes on Saturday night to beat Charlotte 84-67.
The Owls (14-8, 4-5 Conference USA) never trailed after an early 14-0 run for a 19-8 lead, but the 49ers (10-10, 4-5) kept it from expanding until Koulechov’s 3-point play with 6:30 left made it 68-54.
Connor Cashaw added as season-high 17 points for Rice, which made 8 of 18 from 3-point range and 31 of 56 from the field.
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Jon Davis had 21 points to lead Charlotte. Braxton Ogbueze added 15 points and reached the 1,000-point mark for his career. Najee Garvin, Austin Ajukwa and Anthony Vanhook had 10 points apiece.
Charlotte had a 10-5 run to cut the deficit to 50-45 with 15:59 left. Rice outscored the 49ers 18-9 over the next 9½ minutes.
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