Five Score in Double Figures to Lead Men's Basketball Past East Carolina, 81-62

Saturday, January 7

Liacouras Center

12:00 p.m.

Temple University

10-7, 1-3

East Carolina

9-8, 1-3

East Carolina

Temple

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Five Score in Double Figures to Lead Men's Basketball Past East Carolina, 81-62

1.7.17 | Men's Basketball

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PHILADELPHIA - Five players scored in double figures to lead Temple men's basketball (10-7, 1-3) to an 81-62 win over visiting East Carolina (9-8, 1-3) on Saturday afternoon, the Owls' first American Athletic Conference win. Temple trailed for less than 30 seconds in the entire contest, and kept its double-digit lead for the final 11 minutes.

Daniel Dingle made 5-of-8 field goals and 7-of-9 free throws to lead the Owls with 19 points, while also dishing six assists and tying his career high with three steals. Temple got a double-double from Ernest Aflakpui, his third of the season, with 10 rebounds to go with a career-high 13 points.

Also reaching double digits were Quinton Rose with 14 points, Mark Williams with a season-high 13 and Obi Enechionyia with 12. Rose hit 6-of-7 from the field and added two steals, while Williams made 6-of-8 and grabbed six boards.

The Owls shot 65.4 percent in the second half (17-of-26) for their best single-half effort of the season. They were just 0.2 percent away from their best overall outing of the season, making 53.2 percent for the afternoon. They dominated on the glass, out-rebounding ECU 39-28, and did not allow a single ECU player to reach double figures in scoring.

Two Temple greats were honored at halftime with induction into the Temple Basketball Ring of Honor. Jim Williams ('66) and John Baum ('69) now have their names permanently displayed on the walls above the upper bowl of the Liacouras Center.

Temple took early leads of 8-2 and 10-4 and trailed for just 22 seconds in the whole first half. After a 12-12 tie, Rose came in and made an immediate impact, hitting his first three shots and scoring eight points in a row for a 20-17 lead at 8:34.

The lead for the Owls hovered around a single possession until a 7-0 run, capped by an Enechionyia three-pointer, put Temple up 34-25 at the three-minute mark.

The Owls' largest lead was 10 points on a Dingle three-point play with two minutes left. The Pirates then scored five straight while Temple's only point the rest of the way was another free throw by Dingle, and the Owls went into the break up 40-34.

East Carolina stayed within striking distance early in the second half, coming within six points with 13:34 remaining.

Aflakpui got hot and scored five points in a 10-2 run for the Owls, capped by a Dingle three-pointer at 10:38 to put Temple up by 14, 62-48. For the final 11 minutes, the Owls' lead was at least 10 points, and grew to as many as 19 points on Dingle's second trey with 2:17 left. ECU scored only a pair of free throws in the final four minutes, and Rose made a layup with an assist from Alani Moore II in the final seconds to match the 19-point advantage.

Temple will be back on the road for its next contest, a 9 p.m. game at UConn on Wednesday, Jan. 11 (CBSSN / 1210 AM WPHT).

Box Score (PDF) l Photo Gallery | Video Highlights | Coach Dunphy Press Conference | Players Press Conference