Temple men’s basketball gives USC its first loss of the season

Temple University men’s basketball (4-0) handed the University of Southern California (5-1) its first loss of the season Friday night. The Owls beat the Trojans 70-61 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

After only leading 31-30 at halftime, the Owls outscored the Trojans 39-31 in the second half. 

The Owls shot 40 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from the three-point line during the second half. They only shot 37.5 percent and 26.3 percent from the field and three-point line in the first half, respectively.

Freshman guard Josh Pierre-Louis led the Owls with 15 points in just 17 minutes off the bench. This is the most points Pierre-Louis has scored in a game this season. His previous high was five points against Morgan State University on Nov. 9. Pierre-Louis also had three steals during the game.

Senior guard Quinton Rose and junior forward De’Vondre Perry each scored 12 points. Rose added four rebounds, five assists, and two steals.

Perry, who also came off the bench, shot 5-of-8 from the field in 19 minutes of play. Pierre-Louis and Perry helped the Owls earn a 31-18 advantage in bench points.

Junior forward Justyn Hamilton added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Junior guard Nate Pierre-Louis only scored seven points but led the Owls with 10 rebounds. Pierre-Louis only shot 3-of-11 from the field. He only made one three-pointer on five attempts. This is the first game in which Pierre-Louis did not have a double-double since the American Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals last season against Wichita State on March 15.

Trojans freshman forward Onyeka Okongwu led all scorers with 17 points. Okongwu shot 6-of-13 from the field and added six rebounds and five blocks. 

Freshman guard Ethan Anderson was the only other Trojan who scored in double-digits with 12 points. Anderson also registered six rebounds and five assists.

The Trojans struggled to shoot throughout the game. They only shot 38.6 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from behind the arc.

The Owls scored 21 points off 13 Trojans turnovers. The Trojans only scored eight points from Temple’s eight turnovers.

Next, Temple will play the University of Maryland (5-0) on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. in the first of three games of the Orlando Invitational. The Terrapins are ranked sixth in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.