skip navigation

Turnover leads to wild Temple comeback over No. 25 FSU

11/24/2016, 4:00pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Quinton Rose (above) and Temple came from 18 down to top No. 25 Florida State on Thursday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Austin Lederman (@AustinLederman)
--

BROOKLYN -- It was a turnover that got Temple’s comeback started against No. 25 Florida State.

An Owls turnover, that is.

With 13:29 to play, FSU freshman Jonathan Isaac followed up on his own layup by leaping in front of a Quinton Rose inbounds pass, putting the ball through the hoop for his second basket in four seconds. That quick 1-2 punch extended No. 25 Florida State’s lead to 18 points, and it looked like the Seminoles might run away from an Owls squad that had lost two straight against opponents that were nowhere near ranked.

Temple head coach Fran Dunphy used that opportunity to call a timeout, and everything changed.

“I mentioned it to Shizz [Alston] and Quinton [Rose] as well -- he threw the ball away that led to that timeout. I think if he doesn’t throw the ball away we don’t probably win the game,” Dunphy said. “That’s how crazy life is in this world that we live in.”

Temple’s players certainly responded to that timeout, as the Owls surged back with a massive run to shock the Seminoles 89-86 in front of a stunned, yet also elated Barclays Center crowd -- depending on particular fan’s allegiances.

Both Alston and Rose were huge in the comeback effort. Rose kept his aggression from the first half, continuously putting pressure on the longer Seminoles by attacking the basket. The freshman swingman finished the game with 26 points, connecting on 12-of-his-15 hard-earned free throws.

“They were being aggressive defensively so we knew we had to match that aggression on offense, but we couldn’t turn the ball over.” Rose said.

Alston had one of the best games of his young collegiate career. A career-high 22 points, along with four assists and three steals were crucial to Temple pulling off what seemed highly improbable. The sophomore guard nearly shed a tear as he watched 4-of-his-8 3-pointers drop.


Levan Alston, Jr. (above) went 4-for-8 from 3-point range after starting off the season 2-for-18 from deep. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Before the game, Alston had connected on just 2-of-18 3-point attempts to start the year.

“Everybody knows it’s been a tough start for me, especially shooting the ball,” Alston said. “So when I saw those threes go in I just wanted to cry. I haven’t made that many threes in a while.”

Alston refused for his team to go out like they had looked for the first 27 minutes of the game, scoring 18 of his 22 points in the second half.

Knowing the offensive abilities of himself and his teammates, Alston had no desire to get embarrassed on such a big stage.

Temple had started the season with a big win over Philly 5 rival La Salle in overtime. Two deflating losses followed, one to New Hampshire, the other to Massachusetts. A desperately-needed win came a few days ago, in an 88-67 rout over Manhattan. A third loss, one that was looking to be in blowout fashion, could have been tough to swallow for such a young squad.

It was as much of an offensive outburst as a defensive lockdown in the second half that allowed Temple to make it a game against FSU. Sophomore big man Ernest Aflakpui, who finished with seven points and five rebounds, picked up his fourth foul with 8:43 to play and was replaced by 5-foot-10 point guard Alani Moore.

“We were able to switch everything so we were able to keep everything in front of us,” Dunphy said.

Moore had one of the most impressive sequences of the game. The 5-foot-10 point guard fronted Florida State’s 6-foot-8 Phil Cofer, forced a turnover, grabbed an offensive rebound and canned a corner 3-pointer with seven minutes to play to give Temple its first lead, 73-72 since a 4-3 advantage just two minutes into the game.

Junior forward Obi Enochionyia chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds. In arguably the most impressive defensive showing of his career, the upperclassman swatted a career-high six blocks.

Florida State was led by sophomore guard Dwayne Bacon, who scored 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Isaac chipped in 19 points and seven rebounds, often looking like the most talented player on the court despite missing what would’ve been a go-ahead layup with seconds to go.

The Seminoles’ length and athleticism bothered the Owls’ in the first half and early in the second half, before Temple finally cracked the code and figured out how to score most efficiently. Florida State entered the locker room with a 41-31 lead.

Temple will face the winner of No. 19/17 West Virginia and Illinois tomorrow at 3:00 PM in the Barclays Center.


Recruiting News:

HS Coverage:

Tag(s): Home  Events  Division I  Temple  Big 5