During Temple’s first game of the season against Sacred Heart on Nov. 4, the Owls had slow starts in both the first and second halves. They overcame it both times and surged to an opening season win, but made it a point to make sure they wouldn’t be in a similar position against Monmouth on Friday.
The Owls responded resoundingly and completely blew the doors off the Hawks to take a stranglehold of the game in the first 10 minutes. Temple took a one-point lead and ballooned it to 22 in an eight-minute span to completely control the matchup. Guard Jamal Mashburn Jr. followed up his 26-point Temple debut with 21 points in the first half alone.
Monmouth never recovered from the Temple barrage and the Owls dominated the rest of the way. The game marked the Owls’ first 100-point game in regulation since Dec. 10, 2019 against Saint Joesph’s.
Temple (2-0, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) blew past Monmouth (0-2, 0-0 Coastal Athletic Association) 101-73 Friday night in Trenton, New Jersey. Temple shot 65% against the Hawks in the first half to help them get the upper hand.
Temple was able to get out to a hot start with Mashburn being the star of the show. The guard scored eight of Temple’s first 18 points as the Owls took a 16-8 lead just four minutes into the game. While Mashburn helped propel the Temple offense, he wasn’t the only player to find a groove.
Two other new additions helped make an impact on the score sheet for Temple to seize control of the game. Temple center Babatunde Durodola secured his second straight start and made his impact felt with eight points in the first half. Forward Dillon Battie came off the bench and instantly pitched in with three straight buckets, including a dunk to cap it off.
Temple’s offensive surge was sparked by smothering the Hawks on defense. The Owls forced 11 Hawks turnovers in the first half and turned them into 10 points. Monmouth was held to just 10 baskets in the first half and the Owls went on a 29-8 run they never looked back from. Monmouth scored eight straight to cut the Owls’ lead to 11 but never got closer as Temple scored 17 points in the final five minutes to go into halftime up by 21.
Monmouth attempted to chip into the lead coming out of the break with the first four points, but Temple promptly responded. The Owls scored 11 points while holding the Hawks to just five to regain control.
Mashburn cooled off during the second half, with just five points but Temple’s depth helped stave off any Monmouth attempt of a comeback. Forward Steve Settle III scored 10 points after scoring just five in the first half, all coming from the free throw line. Temple’s benched racked up 24 points during the period to keep the Hawks at arm’s length.
The Hawks cut the lead to 19 and Temple responded by going on a 17-6 run to take a 76-46 lead, stunting any chance at a comeback. Monmouth began to find a rhythm while Temple cooled off with 44% shooting in the second half after shooting 65% in the first half.
Temple never let its foot off the gas after taking the 30-point lead and continued to make a statement. Eleven of Temple’s 14 players scored a bucket against Monmouth, and it was led by Mashburn with 26. Settle notched a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds and Battie picked up 13 points in his second collegiate game.
Temple now starts 2-0 for the second straight year, but its wins have been more convincing than last season. The Owls were able to tune up before their matchups with bigger name nonconference opponents coming later in November.
Temple will be back in action to take on Big 5 foe Drexel (1-0,0-0 Coastal Athletic Association) on Nov. 12 at 7 pm.
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