Temple Men’s Basketball had one of its best halves of the season against UTSA in its American Athletic Conference first-round win on March 13. The Owls followed it up with their best full game of the season in their second-round game against Southern Methodist on Thursday.
The Owls shot efficiently, played confidently and dominated every facet of the game. Temple set season-highs in field goal percentage, three-point percentage and blocks and tied a season-high in steals with 14. The team has now won back-to-back games in the conference tournament for the first time since winning the A-10 in 2010.
Temple (14-19, 6-13 AAC) beat SMU (20-12, 11-7 AAC) 75-60 on Thursday night at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Temple overpowered SMU in the second half, outscoring the Mustangs by 16 points. The Owls will face Charlotte on Friday for a chance to compete in the semifinals on Saturday.
“Our main message since we’ve gotten here is to get better every day,” said Temple head coach Adam Fisher. “That’s always been our goal. I think we got better [from yesterday]. We just keep sticking together. This group is together. That’s all we’re trying to do — we want to get better.”
Temple shot 51 percent from the field, had eight blocks and added 14 steals against the team that entered the contest as the third-best scoring defense in the conference. The Owls also shot 50 percent from three on 18 attempts.
Temple guard Hysier Miller and forward Steve Settle III led the way, as each had one of their best games of the season. Miller scored a team-high 21 points on 8-15 shooting and added six steals, and Settle finished with 14 points, four rebounds, five blocks and two steals.
“[The game] was big for me,” Settle said. “I don’t think I played as well as I could have yesterday. I don’t think my energy was good. So to flush that and bounce back like I did today, I’m a big part of this team, so I gotta bring it. It starts with me, and I tried to do that tonight.”
SMU guard Chuck Harris, the team’s second-leading scorer, suffered an ankle injury after making a three-pointer with less than two minutes left in the first half. Harris was the game’s leading scorer at the time, and he was beating the Owls in every aspect on the floor.
The Mustangs struggled to be consistent offensively when Harris exited the game, and the Owls gained momentum. Temple held SMU to 4-19 shooting in the next 14 minutes of gameplay. Harris returned to the game with eight minutes left in the second half, and the Mustangs instantly ended a four-minute scoring drought.
“[Harris’ injury] changed the rotation coming out of halftime,” said SMU head coach Rob Lanier. “There was some uncertainty as to whether or not he was going to be able to return. Our rotation changed a little bit. When you get a guy who’s getting 13-14 a game and he’s not there, that can affect what you do.”
Harris was visibly hurt and did not make the same impact as when he was healthy. He finished with 10 points and only attempted one shot after being put back in the lineup.
Temple took eight minutes to score its first basket in the two teams’ only regular season matchup on Jan. 16, when SMU won by three points. Temple looked different on Wednesday, gaining momentum early on and scoring five points in the first three minutes, but SMU quickly broke out on a dominant 7-0 run.
The Mustangs seemed to be the more talented team in the first five minutes of play, but the Owls found life through their bench. Temple went on an 11-2 run from the 12-minute to the eight-minute mark of the first half, closing the gap to one point. Guards Shane Dezonie, Jahlil White and Quante Berry scored eight of those 11 points.
Temple and SMU traded baskets back and forth throughout the first half, but Temple closed the Mustangs’ lead to just one heading into halftime.
The Owls carried that momentum into the second half, dominating SMU in nearly every stat. Temple shot 53 percent from the field and nearly 56 percent from three-point range in the second half.
Defensively, the Owls stifled the Mustangs. SMU shot 33 percent from the field and just 20 percent from three-point range in the second half. Temple also helped force seven Mustang turnovers in the final half.
Temple advanced to the quarterfinals and will take on third-seed Charlotte (19-11, 13-5 AAC) on March 15 at 9 p.m. The Owls are just three games away from their first AAC Tournament Championship in program history.
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