City of Basketball Love

David Gough (@DG0UGH)

--

Temple’s strong start to the game was enough to defeat South Florida 83-74 at the Liacouras Center on Sunday.

At First..
After a block and a 3-pointer on the other end by junior Obi Enechionyia in the beginning seconds of the game, Temple was off and rolling. The Owls started the game on a 9-0 run that included a dunk by senior Dan Dingle and 3-pointer by sophomore Shizz Alston Jr.

Turning Point…
By the first media timeout, four different Owls had hit a 3-pointer to take a 15-4 lead. The strong start was all the Owls needed to win this one. With eight 3-pointers in the first half and a 62.1 percentage overall, they would go into halftime with a 46-23 lead. South Florida would work its way back to within nine with just under two minutes left, but the Owls’ strong start was too much to overcome.

Standout Stars…
Dingle led Temple with 22 points in the game. He connected on 6-of-7 threes including hitting all three attempts in the first half. Sophomore Ernest Aflakpui scored a career-high 14 points with nine in the second half. He also recorded a team-high seven rebounds in the win.

Noteworthy Numbers…
12: Temple tied its season high for most threes in a game this season. The Owls previously hit 12 in two different games with the last one coming at Cincinnati on January 18. They would hit eight of those 12 from beyond the arc in the first half including four in the first five minutes of the game.

5: Five different Owls reached double digits in the win while all eight Owls that stepped on the court contributed at least four points.

Up Next...
Temple (13-11, 4-7 AAC) vs. Southern Methodist (20-4, 10-1 AAC) -- Thurs., Feb. 9, 9:00 PM