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Temple falls short in NIT semifinal

03/31/2015, 4:45pm EDT

By Teddy Bailey

Will Cummings scored 20 in the win. (Photo: Mark Jordan)

Teddy Bailey (@TheTeddyBailey)
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NEW YORK — From almost everyone’s vantage point, Quenton DeCosey’s 3-pointer at the buzzer looked like it was going to fall.

Instead, DeCosey’s shot, which would have tied the game, clanked off the Madison Square Garden rim and promptly ended Temple’s season at the hands of Miami (Fla.).

The Owls took a five-point lead into halftime but couldn’t find the bucket afterwards, barely shooting 20 percent in the closing 20 minutes to let the Hurricanes storm back and run away with a 60-57 victory.

“It looked good from the bench,” Temple head coach Fran Dunphy said of DeCosey’s shot.

After trailing for almost the entire opening 30 minutes, Miami finally retook the lead with just under eight minutes remaining on a 3-pointer by junior wing Sheldon McClellan, part of a 10-2 run that left the Hurricanes with a 49-45 advantage and 7:15 left to play. McClellan finished with a team-high 16 points and 11 rebounds on the night.

The Owls settled for outside looks throughout the second half, and like in many of their losses this season, were unable to convert when it counted. Temple went 0-for-15 from beyond the arc in the second half and 9-of-39 (23.1 percent) overall

“I thought we obviously shot poorly,” Dunphy said. “I think most of them were decent looks, there was probably two or three that were rushed, that we could have maybe shot-faked and gone to the basket, maybe a little drive-and-kick action. The 3-point shot didn’t help us, but I thought we were at the rim a number of times, half a dozen times at the rim.”

Will Cummings had the best look of all, a wide-open corner triple with under two minutes left and his team down three, but it wouldn’t fall. DeCosey missed an NBA range 3-pointer with the same deficit on the next possession.

Cummings cut it to a one-point game with 58 seconds left on a tough driving layup, which was answered on the other end by Miami’s Deandre Burnett.

But DeCosey missed two crucial foul shots with 21 seconds left, and McClellan was able to make two of his own to put the game out of reach. DeCosey had yet another chance to extend Temple’s season, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“Shots just didn’t go in,” Cummings said. “That’s really all there is to it. Any other day, they’re probably going in. We just didn’t make them today.”

While the majority of his teammates struggled, Temple freshman Obi Enechionyia enjoyed the best game of his young career.

The 6-foot-8 forward led all scorers with a career-high 17 points, shooting 5-of-9 from the floor and making all seven of his foul shots. He was arguably the team’s best defender as well, picking up eight rebounds and a career-high five blocks.

“I thought he was terrific, for a freshman to do what he did and not only was he good on the offensive end, he had a number of blocks that sort of saved us,” Dunphy said. “He’s got a great future ahead of him and he played terrific tonight.”

Temple couldn’t take advantage of the fact that that Miami had to play almost the entire game without two starters. Point guard Angel Rodriguez missed his third consecutive game with a sprained wrist, and then five minutes into the game Hurricanes starting center Tonye Jekiri had to be helped off with what would later be deemed a concussion.

The Owls suffered their own loss, however, when junior forward Jaylen Bond limped off with eight minutes remaining, just before the Hurricanes seized control.

“It hurt,” Cummings said of playing without Bond. “I mean he’s a big part of what we do in the game on defense and offense. Not having him was a vital piece, but at the end of the day, we have other guys who can step up. Obi did a good job today, too. Not having Jaylen, it hurt us a little bit, but somebody else had to step up.”

A back-and-forth first half, which saw Temple lead by as many as 11, got close thanks to a 9-0 Miami run near the end of the period. Morgan’s long jumper with just over a minute left ended a three-minute Owls drought that had allowed the Hurricanes to come within two points; it was a 30-25 Temple lead at the break.

The Owls entered this season coming off of a nine-win campaign in 2013-2014 and completed an impressive improvement. Regardless as to whether or not Temple was legitimately snubbed of an NCAA berth, Dunphy’s bunch produced an on-court product that should carry forward to next season.

“I thought we had a really terrific season for this particular group,” Dunphy said. “I thought they played hard, they did what they needed to do for the most part, it would be nice to still be playing on Thursday night but I’m very proud of our team, certainly of our seniors.”