WATCH: Rice guard hits buzzer-beater, hilariously celebrates with fans
With 6.3 seconds remaining and his team trailing UTEP 82-81, Rice guard Travis Evee did not panic. The man found the onions when his team needed them the most, dribbling the full length of the floor. He was able to burn by the UTEP defender to the baseline, where he beautifully lofted up a floater at the buzzer. The shot went through the net and the Rice Owls prevailed, 83-82.
After the shot went through the hoop, Evee found a Rice fan sitting courtside and hilariously decided to celebrate with them.
Check it out below.
That’s how it’s done, ladies and gents. The shot was simply a thing of beauty. But even more beautiful was the celebration between Evee and the fan. Celebrating with the fans is part of what makes college sports so very great–the deep connections between the fans and the athletes. Sure, like anything else in life, there is plenty of bad with the good. But, a celebration like that is one of the purest things on this Earth. It’s impossible to not feel good after watching the video, unless you’re a UTEP fan.
Evee not only likely landed himself on the SportsCenter Top 10 plays for Saturday, but he also made some Rice basketball history. He finished with 21 points and scored his 1,500th career point.
Check out the graphic below.
He finished the game with 21 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Rice was able to pull the game out, despite turning the ball over 19 times on Saturday night.
Rice currently sits at 12-5 overall and 4th in Conference USA after the heart-stopping win against UTEP. The Owls’ leading scorer this year is Quincy Olivari, who is currently averaging 18.1 points and 1.3 steals per game. Forward Max Fiedler has stuffed the stat sheet in a variety of categories this season for Rice–he’s averaging 8.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game.