HOUSTON -- — Eli Lawrence scored 21 points as Middle Tennessee beat Rice 71-68 on Wednesday night.

Lawrence also contributed five rebounds and three steals for the Blue Raiders (10-7, 3-3 Conference USA). DeAndre Dishman scored 17 points and added 10 rebounds, three steals, and three blocks. Teafale Lenard was 4-of-6 shooting (1 for 3 from distance) to finish with nine points.

Quincy Olivari led the Owls (11-5, 2-3) in scoring, finishing with 20 points and two steals. Travis Evee added 18 points and two steals for Rice. Mekhi Mason also put up 10 points.

Lawrence scored eight points in the first half and Middle Tennessee went into the break trailing 36-22. Middle Tennessee trailed by 15 points in the second half but went on a 15-2 run to narrow the gap to 42-40 with 11:29 left in the half before finishing off the victory

NEXT UP

Middle Tennessee's next game is Monday against UAB at home, while Rice hosts UTEP on Saturday.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.