City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)

Temple beat Penn for the ninth consecutive time Wednesday at the Palestra, 77-73. The Quakers made things interesting late on their homecourt, pulling to within two in final 10 seconds, but the Owls escaped to start their Big 5 season off on a winning note.

At first…
Temple held the lead for much of the first half, and the Owls shot 50 percent from the field during the first 20 minutes. Quenton DeCosey had 12 points for Temple in the first half, and the Owls outrebounded the Quakers, 21-11 before the intermission.

Turning point…
As the team’s started heating up offensively in the second half, Temple needed some answers for a few Penn 3-pointers. Obi Enechionyia provided just that when he knocked in a triple while being foul. The sophomore converted the free throw on the play – which was wrapped around the under-12 timeout – and it gave the Owls a 12-point lead with just more than 10 minutes remaining.

Shining stars…
DeCosey had a team-best 22 points for Temple, while Jaylen Bond added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Antonio Woods had 22 for Penn, including three layups in the final 30 seconds, which kept cutting Temple's lead to one possession.

Noteworthy numbers…
 The teams combined to shoot 20 percent on 3-pointers in the first half and then went 12-for-23 (52.1 percent) in the second half…Penn’s Jackson Donahue (no relation) hit three 3-pointers in a 90-second span, which kept Penn in the game around the midway point in the second half. Donahue, who finished with 12 points, entered the game with nine for the season.

Up next…
Penn (4-5) vs. Ursinus (12/19, 2:30 p.m.)
Temple (4-4) vs. St. Joseph’s (12/13, 4 p.m.)