Temple quickly took a lead against North Texas with seven straight points behind guards Zion Stanford and Jamal Mashburn Jr. However, the Owls were unable to hold their lead and they went eight minutes without scoring a field goal and entered halftime down by one.
Temple’s offense had been plagued by turnovers during the course of the season, but those problems dissolved against the Mean Green. The Owls committed just seven turnovers, the lowest since travelling to Hofstra on Dec. 12. While Temple played its cleanest game of the season, it didn’t get shots in the bottom of the basket.
The Owls shot themselves out of the game, making just 35% of their shots the entire game. A lid went on the basket in the second half for Temple, leaving guard Quante Berry to take the scoring burden from Stanford and Mashburn. Berry scored 22 second-half points, but his career-high 24 points weren’t enough as Temple dropped its first game in two weeks.
Temple (12-7, 4-2 American Athletic Conference) fell to North Texas (14-4, 5-1 AAC) 76-67 Wednesday night at The Super Pit in Denton, Texas. Temple trailed for nearly the entire second half and never got within four points after the Mean Green took the lead.
Both teams entered the game tied for second in the AAC and were looking to break away to get to that first place spot alongside UAB. Temple was the first to embark on a run as it scored seven straight points to take an 11-6 lead within the opening minutes.
Guard Aiden Tobiason left Temple’s game against Tulane on Jan. 19 holding his left shoulder after running into a screen and guard Matteo Picarelli took his place in the starting lineup. Picarelli took advantage and knocked down a three to start the Owls’ field goal shooting.
Temple pushed its lead to 18-10 but the Mean Green, who are undefeated on their home court, started chipping away at their deficit. North Texas went on a 10-3 run to make it a one-point game at 21-20 in the blink of an eye.
The Owls started the game shooting 6-12 from the field but quickly fell off, missing their next 10 shots. Stanford and Mashburn were subbed out and Temple suffered immensely because of it. Aside from an early three from Picarelli, the pair were the only ones to hit a shot from the field in the first half.
Temple went eight minutes without making a field goal and its defense wasn’t able to maintain the lead. Forward Elijah Gray, who has been used to help slow opponents down low, has not played since Temple’s win against No. 18 Memphis on Jan. 16. The Mean Green dominated in the paint in the first half, scoring 22 of their 27 points from under the basket.
Stanford put an end to Temple’s offensive slump with a three pointer but the Owls couldn’t score again for nearly two minutes. North Texas capitalized with back-to-back buckets following a Mashburn turnover to tie the game at 24 with two minutes remaining before halftime.
Stanford once again was the one to save the Owls but it didn’t last, as three Mean Green free throws gave them the lead. North Texas took its first lead since the start of the match with 26 seconds left in the half. Stanford missed a jumper and Temple went into the locker room down 27-26.
The Owls only shot 29% in the first half but connected on half of their shots from downtown which gave them the advantage when it went through a dry spell. The Mean Green shot 42% but missed all nine of their three-point attempts through the first 20 minutes.
Going into the second half, Temple needed someone else to step up and provide an offensive spark. Berry scored four points to tie the game at 32 but he failed to consistently create offensive opportunities.
North Texas jumped out on an 11-point run, taking advantage of Temple’s season-long struggles in the paint. Forward Babatunde Durodola could not contain forwards Brenen Lorient and Moulaye Sissoko. The two led the Mean Green in scoring on the night with 20 and 12, respectively.
Durodola recorded his fourth foul with nine minutes to play and Temple subbed in center Mohamed Keita in his place. The Owls needed the 7-foot, 1-inch center to stop the barrage down low but he was easily beat when having to meet a player outside of the paint.
Berry joined Stanford and Mashburn in carrying the scoring burden, but Temple never built enough momentum to go on a run to retake control. The Owls brought their deficit down to just four points multiple times, but couldn’t get it closer than that.
With five minutes left to play, the teams began trading baskets with the score at 57-51. Temple’s time to slide past the Mean Green was fleeting and the Owls were desperate for extra possessions so they resorted to the foul game. North Texas only benefited from the Owls’ strategy as the Mean Green continued to grow its lead until the final buzzer.
Temple will continue its Texas road trip when it travels to San Antonio, Texas, to take on UTSA (8-10, 2-4 AAC) on Jan. 25 at 4 p.m.
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