(PHOTO RECEIVED FROM NICK DAVIS / THE TEMPLE NEWS)
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) After a disappointing loss to Memphis, Temple (9-5) returned home to face the 9-6 Tulane Green Wave. After being brought off the bench against Memphis recovering from his ankle injury, Damian Dunn returned to the starting lineup. Dunn led the team with 19 points in just 27 of play, leading the Owls to a 75-70 victory.
Temple started the game struggling from the field, shooting 0-4 and allowing the Green Wave to get off to a quick 8-0 lead. After a TV timeout, Aaron McKie gave his squad some motivation, and Temple came out on a short 12-0 run, led by Zach Hicks with three straight threes.
Zach has hit 3/4 from deep. Owls lead 12 – 8 at the 12min media timeout. 11:52 left in the half@zhicks1231 pic.twitter.com/LQULi5Yt0v
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) February 27, 2022
With ten minutes left in the half, the two teams went shot for shot, not allowing each other to go on any runs. The back and forth battle ended with Jalen Cook nailing a jumper to end the half, giving Tulane a 31-29 edge heading into the second.
Heading into the end of the season, Temple needs to limit their turnovers to succeed in the AAC tournament. Even with a team-high 19 points, Damian Dunn finished the night with a game-high seven turnovers, five of which came in the first half. As a team, the Owls committed 21 turnovers.
Hysier Miller started the second half scoring seven of the team’s first ten points, and the Owls never looked back. Tai Strickland had 11 of his 15 points in the second half, leading to Temple’s 46 points second half. The Owls collectively shot 55% from three in the second half.
Zach Hicks had another fantastic game off the bench, scoring 15 points and eight rebounds. Standing at 6’7, Hicks was forced to guard Tulane’s big man Kevin Cross, who, although shot 9-10 from the free-throw line, didn’t wholly affect the game like Memphis’s Jalen Duren in Temple’s previous matchup. Hicks also played a huge role defensively, with Nick Jourdain fouling out after just 16 minutes of play.
Although shooting 2-5 on jumpers (5-11 overall), Jahlil White was all over the floor. White finished with 13 points and 12 rebound games, including three steals. White needs to become more consistent from the free-throw line, as he shot just 2-8 from the charity stripe.
Corner 3 from Jah! Owls lead 62 – 58 @jahlilwhite13 pic.twitter.com/Xl9uXO5lQl
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) February 27, 2022
Jaylen Forbes led Tulane in the box score, putting up an efficient 19 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Jalen Cook also had a solid performance, scoring 14 points and adding three steals to his resume.
Temple desperately needs big man play, shown once Jourdain fouled out. Temple relied on guard Jahlil White and smaller forwards Sage Tolbert III and Zach Hicks to carry the load defensively. Luckily for Coach McKie, Tulane is a guard-heavy team that does not have a big interior player like Memphis or Houston. Going into the AAC tournament, Temple will need guys like Jake Forrester and Emmanuel Okpomo to come in and play valuable minutes. Junior Arashma Parks has started recently but has proven to be unreliable on the defensive side of the ball.
NEXT UP
Temple heads to Houston, Texas, to face the 14th ranked Cougars in their most formidable challenge of the year. This game will be aired Thursday, March 3rd at 7:00 ET on ESPN2. With a 13-2 record, Houston is looking to increase their ranking with two games remaining in conference play. Temple currently sits at the four seed in the AAC, half a game ahead of UCF and Tulane. After Houston, Temple finishes their regular season with a home match against South Florida.
ESPN gives Houston a 98% chance to defeat Temple, so if the Owls come out on top, cheesesteaks on me.
