(PHOTO COURTESY OF HARVEY LEVINE, OwlsDaily)
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) Heading to Eastern Carolina, the Owls were favored looking to get revenge for the disappointing ending in Dallas. Temple took the lead early and never looked back, as they defeated the Pirates 71-63 at home. Damian Dunn led the team with 26 points, 13 coming from the free-throw line.
Both teams started very slow, as the first half ended with a 28-22 lead for the Owls. The Pirates struggled to convert from downtown (a common theme for Temple’s opponents) and finished the night just 5-23 from beyond the arc.
Both teams exploded offensively in the second half, as Temple barely outscored ECU 43-41. Temple started the half on a 4-0 run, but ECU came back fighting and cut the lead to just two with 15 minutes remaining. A big dunk by Nick Jourdain fueled a 13-2 run during the next five minutes.
Jeremiah Williams was everywhere offensively, as, during the run, he had six points and two steals, reading every Pirate pass.
Good defense from JWill leads to a layup. Owls lead 43 – 35 at the media timeout@jeremiah0002 pic.twitter.com/Dqc3bAtpWj
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) February 3, 2022
Temple continued playing at their pace and won the free-throw battle. The last three minutes of the game felt like three hours. Joe Dooley decided to play the fouling game very early, giving his team a chance to come back even down 13 with four minutes remaining. Aaron McKie forced the Pirates to primarily foul Damian Dunn, who shot 6-8 from the line within the last 1:30 of the game.
For the Pirates, lead guard Tristen Newton ended the night with 22 points on 9-10 from the charity stripe. Forward Vance Jackson finished right behind him in the box score with 18 points and seven rebounds.
Even with being inputted into the starting lineup, Arashma Parks hasn’t played starter-type minutes due to Nick Jourdan playing a lot of the center minutes. Against ECU, Parks had a great night, shooting perfect from the field, on top of four rebounds and a monster transition slam.
Good ball movement leads to a dunk for Arashma. Owls lead 52 – 41 at the media timeout. 7:20 left in the 2nd@arashma14 pic.twitter.com/6SF2jmeszJ
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) February 3, 2022
Heading back to Philadelphia, Temple faced off against the 1-8 Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Temple took a fast 32-21 lead going into halftime, dominating the physical aspect of the game. Even losing the second-half score 37-35, the Owls get their win streak back by defeating Tulsa 67-59 at home.
Even being down by so much, Tulsa brought the score to an even 52-52 with just under four minutes remaining. Immediately after, true freshman Zach Hicks showed off his offensive ability immediately after, hitting a beautiful layup followed by a dagger three. Both shots were assisted by Jahlil White, showing the freshman connection between the big guards.
STRONG drive to the basket for Zach. He followed it up with a 3 on the next possession! He has 11 points@zhicks1231 pic.twitter.com/e3aLVMYVBG
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) February 5, 2022
Tulsa head coach Frank Heath chose to play the foul game, which Temple has drastically improved on in recent matches. The Owls shot 8-10 in the closing two minutes from the charity stripe, diminishing Tulsa’s comeback.
Nick Jourdain filled up the stat sheet with 15 points and 12 rebounds but couldn’t hold his own defensively. His post offense and strength down low was too much for Jourdain and showed Temple just how much they miss Jake Forrester (out with injury). Arashma Parks was utilized at the center position, with Rey Iduwu scoring 21 points on 8-8 shooting off the bench.
Tulsa couldn’t control the game’s rhythm at all, as their outside shooting and ball movement wasn’t working. Temple held the Golden Hurricane to just 2-18 from three, along with just ten total assists.
Lead scorer Sam Griffin struggled from the field, shooting 3-15 (1-8 from three) while guarded by Jeremiah Williams.
Speaking of Williams, he had another Dejounte Murray-like game, finishing with 13 points, five rebounds, four assists, and a ridiculous four steals. Being the leader of this Owls team on both sides of the floor, Williams prides himself on giving 110% effort at all times.
Defense to Offense. Steal and fast break dunk for JWill@jeremiah0002 pic.twitter.com/p8Zpfb8xKK
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) February 5, 2022
Even shooting 0-5 from three, Damian Dunn scored 11 points and showed great control, even with the shots not falling. His ability to drive into the paint and draw two+ defenders allows shooters like Zach Hicks and Jeremiah to get significant mismatches on the perimeter.
Freshman guard/forward Jahlil White showed off his playmaking ability with nine assists and only one turnover. He added nine points, six rebounds, and a steal to his stat line. White is a player whose impact doesn’t always show on the box score, but his ability to impact the game with wing defense is some of the best in the conference.
Increasing to a 6-3 conference record, the Owls head south to face off against the 1-4 South Florida Bulls. Temple currently holds the third spot in the American Athletic Conference, with their eyes set on the SMU Mustangs, which they rematch on February 16th.
