HOUSTON — James Kelly sat on the Marshall bench for most of the first half Saturday night against Rice, but he made the Owls pay dearly for his absence.
Kelly scored 27 of his 32 points after halftime as the Thundering Herd shook off the Owls for a 94-90 victory at Tudor Fieldhouse. The Herd evened its overall record at 9-9 and improved to 5-0 in Conference USA play, remaining tied with Alabama-Birmingham for first place.
Kelly finished 13 of 19 from the floor and 3 of 5 from 3-point range in recording his third 30-point game.