HOUSTON -- Nijal Pearson pumped in 18 points and Immanuel King added 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Texas State closed out its nonconference schedule by handing Rice its third straight defeat, beating the Owls 74-66 on Friday night.
Rice now has lost six of its last seven games and is 2-4 on its home court after dropping games to Eastern Kentucky, Georgia State and Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
Pearson knocked down a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left to give Texas State a 33-31 lead, but Miles Lester hit a jumper with one second left to send the teams into intermission tied at 33-33.