(PHOTO RECEIVED FROM Zamani Feelings/OWLSPORTS)
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) Trailing 28-22 at halftime, many Owl fans believed that the Mustangs were set to win the game even without lead guard Kendric Davis. A burst of energy from Tai Strickland in the second half was all Temple needed, as his 27 points led the Owls to a 64-57 win at home.
Without primary scorers Damian Dunn and Jeremiah Williams, both out due to injury, the Owls struggled to establish an offensive rhythm in the first half. They went into the locker room shooting a rough 9-34 from the field and an even worse 2-14 from three. Temple found themselves down by only six despite these poor shooting numbers due to great physical defense. No one could get a flow offensively outside the Weathers brothers 18 points for SMU.
SMU struggled all night to find a primary ball handler with Davis out. With their small ball / four-guard lineup, they continually changed who was bringing the ball up, allowing Temple to constantly put pressure on the primary ball-handler.
The Mustangs took a nine-point lead after a Michael Weathers layup with 15 minutes left, and from then on, it was Temple’s night. The Owls cut the lead to just one with 7:11 in the half, forcing Tim Jankovich to call a timeout. Once guard Tai Strickland came into the game, he took over as the primary ball-handler and went to work. Tai thrives on getting to the basket, and with SMU prioritizing stopping the drive-and-dishes into the corner to shooters like Zach Hicks and Hysier Miller, Tai found himself on an island all night.
Jah with the lay up in transition to cut the lead to 1. SMU calls timeout with the lead, 39 – 38. 7:04 left in the half@jahlilwhite13 pic.twitter.com/Qp6mBE11e2
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) February 17, 2022
Tai talked about being aggressive offensively after the game by stating, “I recognized early on that they weren’t helping off corners, especially the on the opposite side. The lane was wide open; they were bringing the big down. I see the big and just got to create contact.” Strickland showed off the high basketball IQ he learned from his father, former All-NBA guard Rod Strickland.
Tai gave us the lead for good😤
𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗜𝗡! @taistrickland13 pic.twitter.com/NafudcVHkp
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) February 17, 2022
SMU brought back the momentum as Michael Weathers converted an and-one on Nick Jourdain with four minutes remaining, extending the Mustang lead to seven. Immediately after, through excellent ball movement and defensive pressure, Temple went on a 22-8 run to end the game. Tai scored 12 points in the last three minutes, shooting 8-8 from the free-throw line.
Coach McKie showed his gratitude towards his team afterward by saying, “What I’m impressed with the most is I got so many young guys out there, and all of our games have been close coming down the stretch, and those guys have been playing with great poise and understanding the game.” Sending out a rotation of six freshmen against one of the top teams is challenging, but this young core embraces the challenge. “Again, they don’t do everything right, but they’re responding to these situations, and I’m proud of them.”
Temple won this game through the physical defense, accumulating six steals and seven blocks, including three from forward Nick Jourdain. Jourdain also led the Owls with four out of 12 offensive rebounds, allowing Temple to finish the night with eight second-chance points. The Owls finished with a season-low five turnovers on the night, opposed to forcing SMU to commit 13.
Although not hitting any of his three-point attempts, Jahlil White had a fantastic all-around game, putting up 11 points, four rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. His perimeter defense with Jeremiah Williams out has been crucial, as he is their go-to guy late in games when the Owls need a stop.
As for the 9-3 SMU Mustangs, the Weathers brothers totaled 37 points on the night, shooting 16-32 from the field. Behind them in the box score was guard Zhuric Phelps with 10.
Temple returned off a two-game slide and improved to a 7-5 conference record, fifth in the AAC. Two games behind SMU, the Owls are looking to ride this momentum into Cincinnati to face the 6-6 Bearcats. With four days to prepare, Coach McKie is hopeful that Damian Dunn and Jeremiah Williams will return for Saturday’s matchup. The game will be played at 2:00 PM ET, streaming on ESPN2.
