Temple had early start this morning playing at 11:30 AM against the Minnesota Gophers in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. This game seesawed back and forth until the end and Temple almost gave it away. The Owls barely turned the ball over in the first half, but they got a little bit sloppy after halftime. Not to mention, they put Minnesota in the bonus only seven minutes into the second half. Temple did not let this phase them and led by Devin Coleman scoring 12 of his 15 points in the final seven minutes, Temple was able to edge past Minnesota 75-70.
Jaylen Bond led the charge early on, scoring Temple’s first seven points and the team captain made some big plays in the second half en route to his 19 point, 8 rebound performance. Obi Enechionyia made his season debuting for Temple after sitting out the season opener against UNC with an ankle injury. Enechionyia made his presence felt scoring 14 points off the bench, including shooting 3 of 5 from downtown.
Temple’s success with the three-ball was one of the biggest stories of this game as the Owls shot 45% from three point range and they were able to knock them down in key spots. Freshman Trey Lowe had another nice game scoring 9 points off the bench for the Owls and made some impressive plays. Temple had no trouble sharing or taking care of the ball, having 17 assists on 23 made field goals and only turning the ball over eight times in the game.
Temple (1-1) will move onto to face the winner of #22 Butler/Missouri State, which is underway right now. The second round will take place tomorrow at the time that has been yet to be determined.
Side notes: Quenton DeCosey passed 1,000-point mark for his career early in the game and finished with 12 points. Coach Fran Dunphy is bringing his mustache back after shaving for Dionte Christmas, who came back and got his degree. Coach Dunphy is bringing back the mustache to help out the Movember Foundation to raise awareness for prostate cancer and testicular cancer.
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