Temple University Athletics
Saturday, January 14
Liacouras Center
4:00 p.m.
Temple University
10-9, 1-5
68
vs
70
Tulsa
9-7, 3-1
1
2
F
Tulsa
37
33
70
Temple
34
34
68
Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University
Men's Basketball Drops Heartbreaker to Tulsa, 70-68
1.14.17 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA - Despite a career-high 25 points from sophomore Shizz Alston, Jr., Temple men's basketball lost a heartbreaker in the final seconds to Tulsa, 70-68. The Owls (10-9, 1-5) led for most of the second half, but had their offense go cold in the final stretch while the Golden Hurricane (9-7, 3-1) were able to surge back and take a late lead.
The game, a close one most of the way, saw its eighth tie with 2:24 remaining, 68-68. Temple had possession for much of the remaining time thanks to offensive rebounds, but Tulsa got the ball back with 15 seconds left and got a layup from Sterling Taplin with just four seconds remaining. Alston took the Owls' final desperate shot from well beyond long range, but it missed the mark.
Playing all but one minute of the game, Alston hit 10-of-20 from the field including five three-pointers. Junior Obi Enechionyia scored 15 points, and Daniel Dingle added 14 along with a team-high eight rebounds and a team-high four assists.
Tulsa was led by Junior Etou with 15 points, while Taplin and Pat Birt scored 14 apiece with Birt hitting 4-of-8 from three-point range.
Separation was hard to come by in the first half, which featured four ties and five lead changes. Neither offense struggled, with Tulsa shooting 50 percent from the field and Temple close behind at 45 percent.
The Owls led by as many as five just past the 12-minute mark after a 9-2 run, but Tulsa soon followed with a 13-3 run for a five-point lead of its own, 27-22 with eight minutes left in the half. Birt hit a trio of three-pointers in the run for Tulsa, capping it with back-to-back treys.
The Golden Hurricane then had the largest lead of the period with a 33-26 advantage at 3:53, but Dingle scored the final four points in an 8-4 closing run that made it a three-point game at halftime, 37-34.
Dingle was the Owls' leader in points (nine), rebounds (six) and assists (two) at halftime, going 3-of-5 from the field. The scoring was balanced overall, with Alston adding eight points and Enechionyia scoring seven in the first half.
Halftime saw the final Ring of Honor ceremony for the Temple men's basketball program this season. With a combined 86 years of service to the team, Essie Davis (secretary, 1972-2012), John DiSangro (assistant director of operations, 1983-2006) and Jim Maloney (assistant coach, 1973-96) were honored with induction into the Ring of Honor and now have their names permanently displayed on the walls above the upper bowl of the Liacouras Center.
Setting the tone early in the second half was Enechionyia, who drained a three-pointer just seven seconds in to tie the game for a fifth time. That basket started a 13-2 run for the Owls, capped by back-to-back treys for Alston, that gave them a 45-39 lead at 17:04.
Tulsa got it back to a one-point game with a 7-2 run, but Temple responded again as four Owls scored in a 9-2 run for their largest lead of eight points with 7:39 left. Three minutes later, the Golden Hurricane made three straight field goals and hit 4-of-4 free throws to make it a tie game, 65-65 at 4:34.
Birt drained his fourth trey for Tulsa's first second-half lead since the opening seconds, but Alston came back down and hit his fifth three-pointer for the final tie at 68-68 with 2:24 left. The Golden Hurricane's Jaleel Wheeler could have extended the lead but missed a pair of free throws with 1:35 to go. The Owls' final possession started at 1:35 and lasted 80 seconds with offensive boards by Enechionyia and Alani Moore II, but they were unable to get a bucket.
Temple's next game takes the Owls back to conference leader Cincinnati for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday, Jan. 18 (CBSSN / 1210 AM WPHT).
Box Score (PDF) l Photo Gallery | Coach Dunphy Press Conference | Players Press Conference
The game, a close one most of the way, saw its eighth tie with 2:24 remaining, 68-68. Temple had possession for much of the remaining time thanks to offensive rebounds, but Tulsa got the ball back with 15 seconds left and got a layup from Sterling Taplin with just four seconds remaining. Alston took the Owls' final desperate shot from well beyond long range, but it missed the mark.
Playing all but one minute of the game, Alston hit 10-of-20 from the field including five three-pointers. Junior Obi Enechionyia scored 15 points, and Daniel Dingle added 14 along with a team-high eight rebounds and a team-high four assists.
Tulsa was led by Junior Etou with 15 points, while Taplin and Pat Birt scored 14 apiece with Birt hitting 4-of-8 from three-point range.
Separation was hard to come by in the first half, which featured four ties and five lead changes. Neither offense struggled, with Tulsa shooting 50 percent from the field and Temple close behind at 45 percent.
The Owls led by as many as five just past the 12-minute mark after a 9-2 run, but Tulsa soon followed with a 13-3 run for a five-point lead of its own, 27-22 with eight minutes left in the half. Birt hit a trio of three-pointers in the run for Tulsa, capping it with back-to-back treys.
The Golden Hurricane then had the largest lead of the period with a 33-26 advantage at 3:53, but Dingle scored the final four points in an 8-4 closing run that made it a three-point game at halftime, 37-34.
Dingle was the Owls' leader in points (nine), rebounds (six) and assists (two) at halftime, going 3-of-5 from the field. The scoring was balanced overall, with Alston adding eight points and Enechionyia scoring seven in the first half.
Halftime saw the final Ring of Honor ceremony for the Temple men's basketball program this season. With a combined 86 years of service to the team, Essie Davis (secretary, 1972-2012), John DiSangro (assistant director of operations, 1983-2006) and Jim Maloney (assistant coach, 1973-96) were honored with induction into the Ring of Honor and now have their names permanently displayed on the walls above the upper bowl of the Liacouras Center.
Setting the tone early in the second half was Enechionyia, who drained a three-pointer just seven seconds in to tie the game for a fifth time. That basket started a 13-2 run for the Owls, capped by back-to-back treys for Alston, that gave them a 45-39 lead at 17:04.
Tulsa got it back to a one-point game with a 7-2 run, but Temple responded again as four Owls scored in a 9-2 run for their largest lead of eight points with 7:39 left. Three minutes later, the Golden Hurricane made three straight field goals and hit 4-of-4 free throws to make it a tie game, 65-65 at 4:34.
Birt drained his fourth trey for Tulsa's first second-half lead since the opening seconds, but Alston came back down and hit his fifth three-pointer for the final tie at 68-68 with 2:24 left. The Golden Hurricane's Jaleel Wheeler could have extended the lead but missed a pair of free throws with 1:35 to go. The Owls' final possession started at 1:35 and lasted 80 seconds with offensive boards by Enechionyia and Alani Moore II, but they were unable to get a bucket.
Temple's next game takes the Owls back to conference leader Cincinnati for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday, Jan. 18 (CBSSN / 1210 AM WPHT).
Box Score (PDF) l Photo Gallery | Coach Dunphy Press Conference | Players Press Conference
Team Stats
TLS
TU
FG%
.522
.446
3FG%
.300
.321
FT%
.762
.692
RB
26
30
TO
15
14
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
10
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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