(PHOTO COURTESY OF AP PHOTO AND DEREK HAMILTON)
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) Following an 11 point halftime deficit, Temple bounced back and cut the lead to just four with two minutes left. Even with the momentum on their side, Houston showed why they are so successful by getting good shots late in the shot clock and controlling their own destiny. Behind forward Fabian White Jr’s 15 points and 14 rebounds, Houston went home with a 66-61 victory over the Owls.
1️⃣5️⃣ pts
1️⃣4️⃣ rebs
in road win at Temple@3five_ named to #AmericanHoops Honor Roll this weekFabian & Coogs back to work at 6 pm CST WEDNESDAY at South Florida#ForTheCity x #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/uNNGsBU0Gl
— Houston Men's Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) January 3, 2022
Although holding Houston to just 66 points, Temple was beaten off of offensive rebounds and turnovers. The Cougars pulled in 22 offensive rebounds which led to 11 more shot attempts, allowing them to control the pacing of the game.
Temple missed guards Khalif Battle and Tai Strickland on the court, as their perimeter shooting would’ve been heavily utilized. The Owls, led by freshman Zach Hicks who converted three of eight attempts from downtown, shot a combined 10-27 from three. The starters were struggling to hit shots from deep, as they shot 4-17. Houston was able to back off guards Jeremiah Williams and Jahlil White, who both weren’t hitting open looks (2-8)
Houston had a similar situation on the other end, but for the opposite reason. The Owls prioritized perimeter defense heading into this game, and it turned out to be successful. Temple pressured Houston into shooting just 4-22 from three, with guard Ramon Walker Jr. hitting three of six attempts.
Walker Jr, along with shooting 50% from three hit the biggest shot of the game with 2:30 left in regulation. Although just having five seconds remaining on a broken possession, Jamal Shead made a move on freshman Hysier Miller, causing Jeremiah Williams to bite from the corner. Then with one second left in the shot clock, Shead swung the ball right, and Walker Jr. shut down the crowd at Liacouras.
For the first time this season, Temple’s backup big man Arashma Parks started the game, and played valuable minutes down the stretch. Although only finishing the game with two points and four rebounds, he got under the skin of center Josh Carlton defensively, forcing Carlton to shoot under 50% along with three personal fouls.
Starting point guard Jeremiah Williams led the Owls in minutes played with 37, nearly playing the entire game and only committed one turnover. Being the primary ball handler, he accumulated nine points, six assists and four rebounds, along with a crucial steal in the second half. Coach McKie puts a lot of trust into Williams, as although he is a freshman is one of the team captains.
Steal and layup for JWill cuts the lead to 1!@jeremiah0002 pic.twitter.com/e3cCSjSqYp
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) January 2, 2022
Damian Dunn, although leading the team in scoring with 14 on 4-9 from the field, struggled with the ball in his hands. He led all players in turnovers with seven, nearly half of the Owls team turnovers on the night (15). Damian is the player who Temple relies on offensively with Khalif Battle out, and will need to cut down his mistakes during late game situations.
In just 13 games on the court as an Owl, Jahlil White has solidified himself as this young teams “glue guy.” White is the do-it-all player on the court, shown as he ended with seven points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Although shooting 1-5 from the field, White played tenacious defense on both the perimeter and inside. Jahlil did a fantastic job of drawing contact on his shots, and shot 4-6 from the charity stripe, something he typically struggles with.
Starting off 0-2 in conference play, Temple heads to Central Florida to take on the 9-3 UCF Knights on Wednesday, January 5th at 7:00 PM Eastern Time. With their last meeting resulting in a 65-48 win for the Knights, look for Temple to come into this game with a chip on their shoulder.
