After taking the lead 49-47 with ten minutes remaining, Temple stayed aggressively defensively and never looked back. Led by Nick Jourdain putting up a career-high 23 points on 9-17 from the field, the Owls continue their win streak defeating the Golden Hurricane 69-64.
Another look at the win in Tulsa 🎥
𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗜𝗡! pic.twitter.com/1OhcjEfo2E
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) January 14, 2022
Right behind Jourdian in the box score is lead guard Damian Dunn, who although shot poorly from the field, scored most of his 14 points from the free throw line. Dunn also had his best defensive game of the season, accumulating three steals on the night.
Although walking out of Oklahoma with a win, it was a very ugly game for the Owls as they couldn’t hold onto the ball. The Owls as a whole finished with 19 turnovers, including five from their main ball-handler Jeremiah Williams. Damian Dunn and Jahlil White both finished with four turnovers.
Even with his four turnovers, Jahlil White recorded his first double-double of the season, finishing with 11 points and ten rebounds. He also showed his incredible defensive abilities, as he locked up Tulsa’s leading scorer Jeriah Horne to 3-16 from the field.
Temple’s young core is finally starting to get some recognition for their recent success, as both Jahlil White and Nick Jourdain were awarded AAC Player of the Week.
Weekly awards for Nick and Jahlil. That's 2 straight Freshman of the Week awards for Jah 😤
🔗https://t.co/2Bth5G2qXP𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗜𝗡! pic.twitter.com/vQM7thsF9e
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) January 17, 2022
Jourdain credited his performance to his mother, who’s birthday fell on the day of his career game.
Playing starter minutes off the bench, freshman Zach Hicks had an impressive shooting night, shooting 3-4 from three and finishing with 11 points.
The Golden Hurricane had one of their worst offensive performances of the season, shooting 35% from the field and 26% from three.
Tulsa had three double-digit scorers, Jeriah Horne (15), Rey Idowu (14), and LaDavius Draine (12). Other than Horne and Draine, the rest of the starting lineup combined for six points on 2-11 from the field.
ADVANCED STATS
Although attempting 12 more shots than Temple, Tulsa only made one more shot. (21-60 to 22-48). The efficiency from Temple is what was the main deciding factor in the win.
Even in the loss, Tulsa had a much better turnover percentage than Temple ; 24.6% to 15.9%.
Temple had way less bench play than Tulsa, as the Owls allowed their bench players to play 50 minutes as opposed to Tulsa’s 88.
NEXT UP
The Owls had plans to play the 0-4 Wichita State Shockers Wednesday, January 19th at 7:00, but the game got canceled due to health and safety protocols. If the game doesn’t get rescheduled soon, their next matchup is set for Saturday, January 22nd against the 0-4 South Florida Bulls.
