With 11 seconds remaining and the shot clock turned off in a tie game, Temple guard Zion Stanford drove toward the basket, took a step back and fired off a shot that was blocked immediately after leaving his hands.
Then, with just seconds remaining, Stanford regained possession of his miss and put up a second-chance shot that fell as the final buzzer sounded, sending his teammates and coaches onto the court in a frenzy.
“Didn’t you ask if you get an assist for that?” head coach Adam Fisher joked to Stanford. “You don’t. You asked me that, don’t lie.”
Stanford didn’t get that assist, but the shot temporarily put an end to the Owls’ (15-14, 7-9 American Athletic Conference) month-long freefall, allowing them to sneak by South Florida (13-16, 6-10 AAC) 73-71 and snap a six-game losing streak. The Owls will now focus on salvaging the best possible seed in the conference tournament, which is less than two weeks away.
Temple held the lead for most of the second half but South Florida came charging back with around 12 minutes left when guard Brandon Stroud converted on a layup and guard Jimmie Williams hit a three pointer to retake the lead at 53-51.
Still, the Owls were in good position to secure a win in the final minutes of the game, but a collection of missed free throws cost them a painless victory. Stanford tied the game up with just more than a minute left on a layup. Bulls’ guard Kobe Knox turned the ball over on the ensuing possession which led to the Owls’ game-winning possession.
Temple managed to weather the storm of being without three of its best players — guards Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Quante Berry and forward Steve Settle III — who were all listed as inactive. Settle was out with an illness, but Mashburn and Berry’s status remains murky as the team prepares for the conference tournament.
“I’m really proud of our team and our resiliency,” Fisher said. “So many guys were out, we had to start three freshmen and needed guys to step up. We just stayed with it. There were runs for both teams but to be able to close out and finish these close games, that’s what we were doing at the beginning of the year.”
The Owls held the lead for much of the first portion of the opening half despite being short handed. They started the scoring when freshmen Aiden Tobiason and Dillon Battie each recorded tightly contested layups, but it was Stanford who was the driving force throughout the entire game. He finished with 25 points on 9-18 shooting and eight rebounds.
Guard Matteo Picarelli, who has been buried on the depth chart for most of the season after being a key rotational piece last year, popped a three-pointer and got fouled on another to keep the game close when the Bulls started to pull ahead in the back half of the opening period. He also played a key role late in the game and finished with a season-high 11 points.
For the Bulls, it was former Temple forward Jamille Reynolds who anchored the offense. He overpowered Owls’ forwards Elijah Gray and Babatunde Durodola in the paint, making five of his first seven field goals and earning three trips to the free throw line. He finished the game with 17 points.
“[Reynolds] is a really good player,” Fisher said. “I’ve watched him since he was in 10th grade, he can score, he can rebound, he plays hard and has good footwork. I thought we did a good job being able to push him out a little bit.”
Both teams traded the lead multiple times in the final minutes of the first half. South Florida pulled ahead by a then-game-high five points after guard Kasen Jennings nailed a three-point shot with about three minutes remaining in the half. A pair of three throws from guard Shane Dezonie cut the Owls’ deficit to three points and they entered halftime down 39-36.
Temple got off to a quick start in the second half, scoring the first five points, with three coming on an and-one layup from Stanford to jump back in front by two points. On the ensuing possession, Stanford drilled a three-point shot to put the Owls up by five — their biggest lead since the first minutes of the game.
The Owls held the lead sporadically throughout the remainder of the half, but Stanford’s last-second shot sealed the game and gave the Owls something positive to work with as the conference tournament starts to shape up.
The Owls, who once stood in a promising position for a top-four seed and double bye in the conference tournament, will almost certainly be playing a day earlier than they initially hoped to. Wednesday’s win didn’t move them any further up from eighth out of 13 in the AAC ladder.
The Owls will look to build on the win when they travel to Oklahoma to take on Tulsa (11-17, 5-10 AAC) on March 4 at 7 p.m.
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