Temple spoiled Southern Methodist’s chance to set a program record.
The Owls (8-8, 1-4 American Athletic Conference) beat the Mustangs (12-6, 2-3 The American), 66-64, at Moody Coliseum on Wednesday in Dallas to snap their five-game losing streak.
Redshirt-senior guard Josh Brown hit a turnaround hook shot over junior guard Jarrey Foster to give Temple a two-point lead with 1.2 seconds remaining. Brown finished the game with five points, four assists and two rebounds.
“He wanted it, he felt like he could do that again and he did,” coach Fran Dunphy told CBS Sports Network in a postgame interview after the game. “I’m really happy for him.”
Josh Brown…
For the WIN! pic.twitter.com/iqgy7t3bip
— Temple Men's BBall (@TUMBBHoops) January 11, 2018
“Coach drew up a play and it was for me and being the senior captain I felt that I had to step up,” Brown told Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, who has also hit game-winning shots against Connecticut and Memphis in his career. “I put the work in man. It’s time for me to be confident and step up and I did that.”
A 3-pointer by senior guard Ben Emelogu II bounced out as the final buzzer sounded. With a victory, Southern Methodist would’ve won 34 consecutive home games to tie a school record, however, the Owls responded from their tough loss to Central Florida by hitting difficult shots down the stretch.
Temple almost let the Mustangs run away with the game in the second half like Houston and Central Florida did on its losing streak in the second half. Southern Methodist went on a 17-3 run late in the contest.
The Owls didn’t score a field goal for nearly nine minutes during that run until senior forward Obi Enechionyia hit two shots down the stretch to help the Owls win their first road game of the season. Enechionyia hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to tie the game at 62 with one minute, 37 seconds left in the second half.
BIG THREE for @TUMBBHoops!
This is going to come down to the wire… pic.twitter.com/aFjbkbH0TH
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) January 11, 2018
After junior guard Shake Milton scored to give the Mustangs a two-point lead, Enechionyia answered with a bucket of his own to tie the game at 64 with 54 seconds remaining. Enechionyia finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
“We all believe in each other,” Brown said. “We had a team meeting before we came down here and we talked three components about winning, which is sacrifice, toughness and trusting each other. So we trust everybody on the team. And we trusted Obi that he was going to make both shots, and they trusted me to make that shot down the stretch.”
Sophomore guard Quinton Rose entered the game struggling in Temple’s two previous losses to Cincinnati and Central Florida. He combined for four points on 2-for-13 shooting in those games. Rose broke his slump at Moody Coliseum.
Rose finished with a team-high 23 points on 3-of-5 shooting on 3-pointers. He also had two rebounds, one assist, one steal and four turnovers. He opened up the second half scoring Temple’s first 14 points, including his own 8-2 run.
Rose’s trey at the 14:07 mark of the second half ended his consecutive points scored streak to give Temple a 48-36 lead.
Temple’s bench scored 17 points and provided solid minutes against the Mustangs. When Brown picked up his second foul at the 10:15 mark of the first half, sophomore guard Alani Moore II replaced him and helped the Owls go on an 8-3 run late in the first half to take the lead.
Moore finished with seven points, four assists and two rebounds. Freshman guard Nate Pierre-Louis scored five points with six rebounds, while freshman forward De’Vondre Perry scored five points and collected two boards.
Temple will host Memphis (11-6, 2-2 The American) at the Liacouras Center on Saturday.
“We got a lot of room to make up, but we’re looking forward to it,” Brown said.
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