Temple university men’s basketball defeated Tulane 75-67 on Saturday in a bounce-back victory.
The Owls (16-6, 6-3 American Athletic Conference) won their first game in over a week after dropping close conferences matchups against Cincinnati and Houston. Tulane (4-17, 0-9 The American) remains winless in conference play this season.
To begin the game, junior guard Quinton Rose and senior guard Shizz Alston Jr, combined for nine points to go on a 9-0 run. The Owls would never lose their lead, leading by as many as 13 in the first-half.
Rose had 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting, adding four rebounds and three assists. Alston led all scorers with his 29 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
The Owls point guard also went to the free throw line, 15 times, hitting 14-of-15 free throws from the stripe
Alston got to the free-throw line often and early, as coach Fran Dunphy emphasized to the guard. Before the season, Dunphy called Alston, “one of the finest foul shooters in the country.”
Sophomore guard Nate Pierre-Louis recorded his second double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
After struggling offensively against Houston on Jan.31, the Owls bounced back from a poor shooting night — Alston, Rose and Pierre-Louis — shot a combined 15-for-36 from the field.
Leading the way for the Green Wave was sophomore guard Caleb Daniels, who recorded a double-double of his own, scoring 21 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, with six assists.
Tulane was able to cut the Owls lead down to as many as six with four minutes remaining. But Alston was able to put the Green Wave away for good with two of his 14 successful free throws of the night.
Senior center Ernest Aflakpui was in foul trouble again, recording four or more fouls for the third consecutive game. Aflakpui has not played 30 minutes in a game since Temple’s loss to Penn on Jan. 19.
Aflakpui’s foul trouble allowed Tulane to remain in the game. The Green Wave outrebounded the Owls 43-to-37. Tulane had 18 second chance points, while Temple only had nine.
Dunphy tinkered with his starting lineup for the second consecutive game by starting sophomore forward Justyn Hamilton in place of sophomore forward De’Vondre Perry. Hamilton had seven points and three rebounds in 24 minutes.
The Owls will come home after a two-game road trip for another conference matchup on Wednesday, hosting Connecticut (12-9, 3-5 The American) at the Liacouras Center at 6 p.m.
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