City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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BROOKLYN – Temple had the defensive possession it wanted.

In a tie game with the clock winding down in overtime, the Owls forced Iowa’s Mike Gesell into a tough, fall-away shot along the baseline that barely grazed the front of the rim. It looked like Temple had survived to see double overtime – but there was one 7-foot-1 roadblock in the way.

Iowa forward Adam Woodbury tipped in the miss as time expired, and Temple’s season came to a screeching end with a heartbreaking 72-70 loss in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. There was contact while players jostled for the rebound, but Temple did not complain about the lack of whistle afterward.

“I don’t think I did enough boxing out and my guy got the rebound and put it back,” said Obi Enechionyia, the 6-foot-9 sophomore who was closest to Woodbury on the rebound.

“I certainly couldn't see it from where I was sitting. We'll watching on the film, but the reality is it doesn't matter,” added Owls coach Fran Dunphy. “They got the rebound and put it back in.”

The season comes to a close for the Owls (21-12), who were a No. 10 seed after winning the American Athletic Conference in the regular season. Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes (22-10) will face their second Big 5 team in three days as they face second-seeded Villanova for a trip to the Sweet 16 on Sunday.

The loss for the Owls overshadows a standout performance from senior guard Quenton DeCosey in his final collegiate contest. DeCosey had a game-best 26 points and hit a trio of clutch free throws to tie the game with 2.1 seconds left in regulation.

With time running out, DeCosey got hit while attempting a 3-pointer and went to the line where he knocked down all three shots to tie the game – the last one coming after an Iowa timeout.

“The only thing I was thinking was just let me take my time, make the first one, then make the second one, then make the last one,” DeCosey said. “And just my follow through.”

DeCosey’s shots marked a 10-point comeback for the Owls, who trailed 51-41 with 13-and-a-half minutes remaining. In a game full of statistical oddities and one with multiple droughts and runs on both sides, Temple slowly but surely got itself back within striking distance.

The Owls never led in the second half, but finally got the gap down to one possession when DeCosey hit a layup to make it 61-58 with 1:51 left. A few possessions later, it looked like Enechionyia was going to tie the game, but his 3-pointer which was halfway down rimmed out. Eventually, with some defense and missed Iowa free throws, DeCosey had his chance and came through at the foul line.

Temple also made a comeback in the first half. The Owls fell behind 32-20 in the early going as Iowa got off to a hot offensive start which featured seven consecutive made field goals at one point. But Temple ended the half on a 17-6 run to trail by just one at the intermission.

“When we lost a 12-point lead in the first half, our defense was not what it needed to be,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “That was about the only stretch where I could say, you know what, we didn't battle in that period of time the way we need to. Luckily, we were still up one at halftime.”

In overtime, Temple took a two-point lead when DeCosey hit an old-fashioned 3-point play in transition with 2:40 left. Josh Brown, who ended with 16 points, hit a jumper with 51 seconds left to tie the game at 70-70, but the Owls would not have another possession.

After getting a stop, Daniel Dingle – who was in the game for Devin Coleman, who fouled out – got fouled on a rebound and sent to the line. He missed the front end of a 1-and-1, giving the ball back to the Hawkeyes with 22 seconds left.

And while the Owls forced a bad shot from Gesell, Woodbury came up with the late-game heroics.

“I was fortunate enough to put it in, and just one of those right place, right time kind of deals, and happy we got it in,” Woodbury said.

The loss was also the final college game for Jaylen Bond, who had the game’s only double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds that helped the Owls have a 49-38 advantage on the glass.

“It's hard,” Bond said afterward when asked to sum up his emotions. “Any time you lose is hard.”

Especially when it’s at the buzzer.