(PHOTO COURTESY OF TEMPLE RIVALS)
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) With ESPN giving Temple a 10.9% chance to win after their 17 point loss in the previous matchup, the Owls came out fighting on the defensive end against the Knights and it worked. Although not having Jake Forrester, Tai Strickland, Emmanuel Okpomo, Khalif Battle and Coach McKie available in Orlando, the team played with a lot of heart and overcame a 12 point deficit in the 2nd half to secure the four point win.
Fans that tuned in with five minutes left were blessed with tough, gritty basketball on both ends of the court. After a made three pointer by Darius Perry with just under 12 minutes left, Temple got hot and went on a huge 19-4 run. Led mainly by Jahlil White, the Owls fought all the way back and narrowed the deficit to just four with 1:28 left.
After an Owl timeout and two scoreless possessions, Zach Hicks found himself open from the right wing and drilled a three, cutting the lead to just one with 23 seconds left. Temple called a timeout, and set up a quick trap on Brandon Mahan. With Mahan being a fantastic player, he split the defense and passed the ball up to Tyem Freeman.
Freshman Nick Jourdain ran to Freeman, and rather than fouling, put two hands on the ball forcing a jump ball, with possession going to the Owls. After a UCF timeout, Jeremiah brought the ball up with poise and control. He took one hard dribble to the right, and jump-passed a perfect ball to Damian Dunn who was standing at the left wing.
Damian proceeded to take one look at the basket, and without hesitation, nailed the game winning three with five seconds on the clock.
DAMIAN DUNN FOR THE LEAD!@Dam1anKD pic.twitter.com/ugBGPPNJeq
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) January 6, 2022
After Damian proceeded to force Tyem Freeman to dribble off his foot, Dunn hit two free throws and sealed the road victory for the Owls. The Aaron McKie-less coaching staff, led by Monte Ross, celebrated their way into the locker room after getting their first conference win.
Jahlil White finished the game with a team high and career high 17 points on 7-9 shooting, along with five rebounds, one steal and one block. After a career night, White said, “My teammates and coaches always stress to me to have confidence, so I was just confident out there and doing whatever I could do to help win.”
Right behind him in the box score was Damian Dunn who put up 16 points, four assists and three rebounds. Even with 16 not being a career high, Dunn had his most important five points of his young career in the last seven seconds of the win.
Even starting the game 0-5 from three, true freshman Zach Hicks had no hesitation taking any shot on the court. Finishing with 10 points on 3-8 from downtown, this coaching staff has a lot of trust in him as recently he has always been on the court late in the second half. Coach Ross talked about the confidence they have in the 3-star recruit by stating, “A freshman, missing his first five shots on the road, and he never blinked. He just stepped up. Every shot that he took after that he felt as though it was going to go in.”
“(Jeremiah Williams) doesn’t really get the credit he deserves for how much we lean on him. He’s the rock for us that you need your point guard to be.” Not only coach Ross, but the entire Owls coaching staff praises Williams’ efforts on both sides of the ball, as he was needed today playing 39 minutes. He totaled 13 points, six assists and four rebounds while controlling the offense on every play.
Even without head coach Aaron McKie in charge, the players and coaching staff didn’t lose a step, as coach Monte Ross came in and gave this team energy and promise when the game looked to be over. Jahlil White talked about how the environment was without Coach McKie by saying, ” I feel like all the coaches enforce the same thing, they all expect the same thing from us but we definitly missed (Coach McKie).”
Nothing but love for @CoachMonteRoss
𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗜𝗡! pic.twitter.com/oeaSBhJpBy
— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) January 6, 2022
After this big conference win, Temple looks to continue this momentum back home Saturday, January 8th against the 10-3 East Carolina Panthers.
