Boca Raton, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Led by Max Guercy who scored a game-high 25 points to go along with six assists, the Rice Owls downed the Florida Atlantic Owls, 76-69, in a Conference USA matchup at FAU Arena.

For Rice (10-16, 7-7 C-USA), Seth Gearhart added 24 points and Marcus Jackson chipped in with 10 points.

Solomon Poole scored 22 points to pace FAU (8-17, 1-13), which has lost nine straight contests. D'Andre Johnson finished with 15 points, Justin Massey added 11 points and eight rebounds and Marquan Botley dished out six assists in the losing effort.

Rice went into halftime holding a 39-32 advantage, hitting on 50 percent of its field goal tries in the opening period, including 6-of-12 from 3-point range. FAU was even more impressive from the field, shooting 57.1 percent, but was not as effective from deep, making 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.

Both teams cooled off a bit after intermission. Rice hit on 48.1 percent of its field goal tries, including 2-of-7 from 3-point distance. FAU shot 44.4 percent from the field in the second half, including 4-of-10 from beyond the arc. Rice scored the first six points of the second half to take a double- digit lead. FAU would eventually get to within three, 70-67, with 28 seconds to play, but Rice made all six of its free-throw attempts in the final 17 seconds to seal the victory.

Rice made the most of FAU's miscues, converting 14 FAU turnovers into 25 points. Rice also outscored FAU in the paint, 28-24.