Temple University men’s basketball (13-9, 6-5 The American Athletic Conference) lost 92-83 in overtime against Tulane University (11-11, 8-5 The American) on Saturday afternoon after a back and fourth game with more than 10 lead changes.
“It was a winnable game for us,” said head coach Aaron Mckie.”I thought we positioned ourselves well. The guys fought, they battled. We had an opportunity to win the game.”
The Owls’ were without leading scorer redshirt-freshman guard Damian Dunn and freshman guard Jeremiah Williams due to injuries, so Temple opened the contest with a new lineup featuring freshman guard Quincy Ademokoya and freshman guard Hysier Miller – his first start of the season.
Even with a lineup that hasn’t played much together, Temple found some offensive rhythm throughout the game.
“I thought all of them responded,” McKie said. “I thought all of them had a pretty good showing, unfortunately we didn’t come out with the win, but I thought those guys did a pretty good job for us.”
Freshman forward Nick Jourdain blocked a shot early in the first half, protecting the Owls’ small 13-10 lead. However, Green Wave redshirt-freshman forward Tylan Pope made a 3-pointer, tying the game at 13.
Temple regained its lead for most of the first half, but Tulane went on a 9-0 run with three minutes remaining, leaving the Owls behind 38-34 at halftime.
With thirteen minutes left in the second half, Green Wave sophomore guard Jaylen Forbes, who led the team with 25 points, made a 3-pointer, increasing Tulane’s lead to seven points.
Ademokoya quickly responded, making a 3-pointer after a pass from redshirt-sophomore guard Tai Strickland, cutting Tulane’s lead to 52-48.
At the halfway point of the second half, the Owls had worked their way to a 54-point tie and the game remained close the rest of the way.
The Green Wave kept Temple scoreless for more than four minutes at the end of the second half, and a dunk by Green Wave sophomore forward Kevin Cross put them ahead 68-66.
Then, Strickland made two free throws, tying the game 68-68 with less than a minute to go. Two more free throws by Strickland and one by Ademokoya put the Owls at 71 points.
With 10 seconds left, a 3-point shot by Forbes tied the game at 71-71, sending the teams into overtime.
The Owls struggled defensively in overtime, allowing the Green Wave to take an early lead. Multiple chances at the free throw line gave the Green Wave the advantage against the Owls.
“We didn’t have our, I wanna say, normal defensive game today,” McKie said.
Miller and Ademokoya both scored career highs, ending the game with nine points and 15 points, respectively. Freshman forward Zach Hicks led the team with 21 points.
The Owls will head back home to take on Southern Methodist University (17-5, 8-2 The American) at the Liacouras Center on Feb. 16 at 9 p.m.
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