Temple Men’s Basketball had several chances to beat Tulane on Sunday afternoon. The Owls entered the contest on a six-game losing streak, struggling to find their footing within the American Athletic Conference.
Temple came back from a nine-point deficit and tied the game thanks to guard Hysier Miller’s three-pointer with just seven seconds left in regulation. However, the Owls hit a wall in overtime, and the Green Wave finished the game outscoring the Owls by 12 points in the final period.
Temple (8-14, 1-8 American Athletic Conference) fell to Tulane (13-9, 4-6 AAC) 92-80 Sunday afternoon in New Orleans. The Owls extended their losing streak to seven straight games and have lost their last three games by six or fewer points.
Temple guard Jahlil White was a key contributor despite appearing to fight through injuries. He scored 21 points on 7-13 shooting and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. White also gave the Owls life on offense when it appeared to be getting stagnant. Guard Jordan Riley was right beside White, finishing with a team-high 23 points.
The Owls’ offense played a subpar first half, shooting about 35 percent from the field. Tulane, the best-scoring team in the conference, ended the first half shooting nearly 52 percent from the field.
Temple head coach Adam Fisher decided to slow down the pace of the game and try to force Tulane to play through zone defense. The Owls clawed their way back from being down five at halftime with efficient second-half shooting and forcing turnovers.
However, the Owls went on a scoring drought from the seven-minute mark in the second half to the four-minute mark, punctuated by White’s fourth foul. Fisher was forced to take a timeout after Tulane guard Asher Woods converted on a turnover to extend the Green Wave’s lead to seven with five minutes remaining in regulation.
The timeout helped Temple work its way back and tie the game to force overtime when Miller and forward Steve Settle III connected on two three-pointers at the end of regulation. The Owls shot just 1-9 from the floor and scored four points in the overtime period, and the Green Wave connected on every field goal and free throw attempt in overtime.
Tulane forward Kevin Cross was pivotal in the win. He scored a game-high 27 points, including 15 at the free-throw line. He also scored six of the Green Wave’s 16 overtime points, and all occurred at the stripe.
The Owls will look to end their losing streak when they return to The Liacouras Center against Memphis (16-6, 5-4 AAC) on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m.
Be the first to comment