City of Basketball Love

David Gough (@DG0UGH)
& Will Slover (@WillSlover31)
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Temple got its first American Athletic Conference win over the East Carolina Pirates by a score of 81-62 at the Liacouras Center in a Saturday afternoon matinee.

At First…

Both teams couldn’t make a shot from beyond the 3-point line in the early going as they missed their first 13 shots combined. That stretch was broken on freshman Quinton Rose’s first shot of the game as he gave Temple a 15-14 lead, erasing the Owls’ only deficit of the first half. That was the beginning of eight straight points scored by Rose, which put Temple ahead 20-17. Obi Enechionyia lead Temple in the first half with nine points as the Owls took a 40-34 lead into the half.

Turning Point…

For the first eight minutes of the second half, both teams were mostly even. It was an Ernest Aflakpui dunk with under 12 minutes remaining that got both the crowd and the Owls going. The dunk gave Temple an 11-point lead before a Quinton Rose layup and a Shizz Alston three pointer gave Temple a 62-48 lead with 10:38 remaining. Temple’s lead would remain in double digits for the rest of the game.

Standout Stars…
Aflakpui, the Archbishop Carroll graduate, shot 6-of-10 from the field on his way to a career high of 13 points, while also reeling in 10 rebounds for his third career double-double. Senior guard Daniel Dingle did it all for Temple in the win, as he finished with 19 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals.

For ECU, all 10 of the players to step on the court found their way into the scoring column. Leading the way for the Pirates was sophomore Kentrell Barkley, who finished with nine points and six rebounds. 

Noteworthy Numbers…
5: Temple had five players finish with more than 10 points. Dingle and Aflakpui's efforts were aided by those of Obi Enechionyia (12), Quinton Rose (14), and Mark Williams (13). 

65.4%: Temple shot 17-of-26 from the field in the second half (.654), their highest total for a half since their third game of the season against UMass back on November 17th. 

Up Next…
Temple (10-7, 1-3 AAC) @ Connecticut (5-9, 0-3 AAC), Wed., Jan. 11, 9:00 PM
East Carolina (9-8, 1-3 AAC) vs. Houston (12-3, 3-0 AAC), Wed., Jan. 11, 6:00 PM