With a minute remaining, the Owls were down by three points and looking for one more push of momentum to grab the lead and make NCAA history. Temple had trailed for nearly the entire game but trimmed down its once double-digit deficit to pull within striking distance.
The Owls jumped out in front with 30 seconds remaining after forward Steve Settle III hit a three-pointer and guard Shane Dezonie slammed home a fastbreak dunk. However, a three from guard Bobby Durkin gave Davidson the lead back with 10 seconds remaining.
Temple took a timeout to draw up a play to win the game. Out of the timeout, Dezonie inbounded the ball into the hands of forward Elijah Gray in the post. Gray took his defender to the basket and made a layup to give Temple a one-point advantage. Davidson’s ensuing three-pointer at the buzzer missed the mark and the Owls held on for the comeback win.
Temple (7-4, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) defeated Davidson (8-3, 0-0 Atlantic-10) 62-61 Wednesday night at The Liacouras Center. With the victory, the Owls became the sixth Division I program in NCAA history to reach 2,000 wins.
“2,000 wins is incredible,” said head coach Adam Fisher. “This is a program win, to be the sixth school to ever do it, that’s why you want to come to Temple. Thank you to all of our former student-athletes, coaches and trainers, who played a big part in this.”
Both teams struggled to get started offensively through the first few minutes of action. Temple notched 13 points midway into the first half but went cold from there. The Owls went on a four-minute scoring drought that allowed Davidson to open up a 22-13 lead.
Guard Jamal Mashburn Jr.’s ability to create opportunities off the dribble was vital to keeping Temple in the game during the first half. Mashburn scored six of Temple’s first nine points, all of which came from getting to the rim and drawing contact.
Temple botched several defensive coverages which led to open threes for the Wildcats as they converted on three of their first six triples. The Owls have struggled on the glass all season and once again were getting bested down low. Temple gave up six offensive rebounds in the first half, which resulted in eight second-chance points for Davidson.
The Wildcats started to establish a rhythm amid a 9-0 run. Davidson’s zone defense continued to derail the Owls’ offense. Temple shot an ice-cold 7% from three in the first half and failed to establish a paint presence due to Davidson’s interior defense.
“The hardest part to replicate is their size,” Fisher said. “Their guards are big and long. When you try to [prepare against it] in practice, it’s hard to simulate that. I thought we did a nice job, we had a plan of attack, we had it each timeout.”
The Owls looked to gain momentum from their backcourt duo of Mashburn and guard Lynn Greer III. The pair finally solved Davidson’s zone defense with a few mid-range shots to shorten the deficit to four points at 24-20.
Despite a strong defensive effort, Temple’s offense could not capitalize, as they shot just 29% in the first half and entered halftime trailing 31-24.
Temple came out of the locker room with more of an offensive focus but remained stagnant. The Owls were unable to establish a rhythm and Davidson went up by double digits at multiple points early in the second half.
Durkin motored the Wildcats’ offense and came out firing in the second half after recording three points in the first. Durkin poured in eight points in the first eight minutes of the half including two three-pointers.
The Owls started to find their footing on offense midway through the second half, but small defensive miscues prevented them from making a serious run. However, the Owls finally seemed to figure it out on both sides of the ball and stormed back into the game.
“Just sticking to the game plan,” Dezonie said. “Coach has prepared us a lot, knowing that we could be down some games, we could be up a lot of games, but preparing us to always play hard. I feel like we were prepared for this moment.”
Mashburn made a series of plays in the final ten minutes that cut Davidson’s lead to 54-53. He took command of the game by getting to his spots in the mid-range and at the rim where he created easy offense for himself and Gray.
A tip-in layup from guard Quante Berry brought Temple to within a point at 56-55 with just three minutes remaining. With every bucket, the Owls’ defensive pressure intensified but they still could not find a way to take the lead from the Wildcats.
Berry’s playmaking was critical down the stretch. He drew defenders to set up Settle for a spot-up three to tie the game at 58. On the ensuing defensive possession, Berry recorded a crucial block and assisted Dezonie on a dunk to give Temple a 60-58 lead.
With 30 seconds left, the Owls led by two points but Davidson had the ball on offense. The Wildcats missed their first shot but gathered the offensive rebound. Durkin got free for an open three and drilled it to put Davidson up 61-60. The Owls had eight seconds to respond and they called upon Gray. He got to the basket and made a layup that served as the final blow in the win.
“It means a lot to me,” Gray said. “In the locker room at halftime, my teammates had my back, coach had my back and got in my ear. That gave me the confidence I needed in the second half to do what I did.”
The Owls will look to make it four straight wins when they head up to Springfield, Massachusetts, to take on Rhode Island (10-1, 0-0 A10) on Dec. 21 at 6:30 p.m.
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