HOUSTON -- — Jalen Smith's 18 points helped Rice defeat East Texas A&M 71-64 on Friday.

Smith added five rebounds and three steals for the Owls (2-2). Trae Broadnax scored 15 points while shooting 6 for 12, including 3 for 6 from beyond the arc and added seven rebounds. Dallas Hobbs had 15 points and shot 5 for 10 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and 3 of 5 from the free-throw line.

Noah Pagotto led the way for the Lions (1-3) with 14 points. Ronnie Harrison Jr. added 10 points for East Texas A&M. Michael Folarin also put up nine points.

Rice led East Texas A&M at the half, 26-25, with Smith (nine points) its high scorer before the break. The second half featured six lead changes and was tied four times before Rice secured the victory. Nick Anderson scored 11 second-half points to help seal the win.

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