Freshman Boyd hits late FTs, EKU beats Rice 73-72 (Nov 10, 2017)
HOUSTON (AP) Freshman Dedric Boyd sank three free throws with five seconds left to help Eastern Kentucky beat Rice 73-72 on Friday night in a season opener.
Trailing 72-70, Boyd got his defender in the air and drew a foul while shooting behind the 3-point line. He buried all three free throws to give the Colonels their first lead of the game.
Eastern got a stop at the other end to seal it.
Nick Mayo led all players with 25 points for EKU, while also grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds. It was his sixth-career double-double. Boyd finished with 20 points and six boards.
The Colonials went on a 17-5 run to cut it to 66-65 with 3:07 left. Mayo tied it at 70 with four straight free throws.
Connor Cashaw paced four Rice players in double figures with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Rice won 23 games last year and advanced to the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
