Photos: Jesse Garber
By: Austin Boynes
PHILADELPHIA- A three-point shot by St. Joe’s Deuce Jones shocked the Temple Owls and saw them finish in fourth place in the Big 5 Classic this past Saturday. Temple looked to get back to .500 as they sat at 4-5 and aimed to put that loss behind them when they returned to the Liacouras Center to face Division II Georgian Court, who was coming off two straight conference wins to get to 5-3.
The Lions got punched in the mouth early and the Owls kept on punching as they took control of the game from the opening tipoff. Temple rode the hot hand of many of their players as six players scored in the double digits on the way to a 103-57 thumping win Tuesday evening.
”I thought we played the right way,” Temple head coach Adam Fisher said. “Obviously, the last time out was tough but it’s how you regroup, how does the locker room respond.”
Guard Aiden Tobiason got the scoring started with a three pointer to give Temple a quick lead and a dunk by guard Gavin Griffiths helped the Owls grow their lead before a three pointer by Lion’s guard Cameron Edmonds cut the lead to seven to five which was followed by a media timeout. The break did not stop Temple from scoring as the flood gates began to open.
A 16-0 run gave the Owls a new and commanding 23-5 lead in which Griffiths, Tobiason, Derrian Ford and even guard Masiah Gilyard scored at least four points during the stretch. The Temple scoring attack had been spread out, as six players found the bottom of the net as the Owls lead reached 27-10 before another media timeout.
Temple guard Derrian Ford #22 led the Owls with 18 points in win vs. Georgian Court - Photo by Jesse Garber
“Coach says it all the time, ‘we’re tougher together, we’re better when we’re together,’ when we play together, I think it’s really hard to guard us,” guard Jordan Mason said. “Just being able to trust each other and making the right plays has been good for us.”
The Temple scoring train continued to roll as the first half wound down and the Lions still had no way of getting the Owls off the tracks. A seven to nothing run by Georgian Court cut Temple’s lead down to 37-22. Guards Anthony Rivera and Edmonds along with forward Jaycen Santucci helped give the Lions the much needed momentum that they needed going into the second half.
Ford hit a buzzer beater three pointer to send the Owls into halftime with a dominant 43-24 lead as Tobiason and Ford led the way. Temple could not miss from the field and shot a clean 50 percent from the field and 31 percent from beyond the arc. Points were left at the foul line as they made just over half of their 13 attempts.
The Lions could not get the lid off of the basket as they only made eight of their 26 field goals and shot 23 percent from three, going three for 13. Edmonds struggled in the first half as he shot 28 percent from the field in the first half but it was Santucci who hit three of four shots along with crashing the boards with his three rebounds. Rivera made his presence known with three rebounds and three assists to go along with his four points.
“It’s part of basketball that there’s going to be ups and downs. The response that we’ve had when we’ve had bad defensive games and the way that we approach practice and film and just try to get better from it that I know we’re going to continue to grow and be better on the defensive end because it’s an emphasis of ours,” said Fisher.
After going 0-4 in the first half, guard Donavin Crawford hit back to back threes to kick off the second half for the Lions which made it a 43-30 game less than a minute in. Temple kicked it up a notch and jumped right back on the scoring train and went on a 9-0 run to make it a 59-36 advantage as they looked to stop any Georgian Court momentum.
“It was about never getting too high or too low and just focusing on the defensive end and making sure that our communication and talk is where it needs to be,” Mason said. “We just wanted to control what we can control, we can’t focus too much on the last play but we can focus on the next play.”
That momentum was stopped as the Owls continued to get everyone involved as the lead ballooned to 76-47 as Tobiason, Ford and forward Ayuba Bryant Jr. helped restore the dominant Temple lead that they had earlier in the first half. Temple emptied their bench with just above five minutes to go with a controlling 29 point advantage.
Temple guard Derrian Ford hits a first-half buzzer-beater - PSD Video by Austin Boynes
Temple guard Masiah Gilyard hits a three - PSD Video by Austin Boynes
Derrian Ford with the and-one layup - PSD Video by Austin Boynes
Walk-on guard Connor Gal made the most of his five minutes with seven points as the rout continued. The train rolled on to a 103-57 thumping that surely got rid of the bad taste in their mouth from the Big 5 classic.
“I like to contribute to this team and get buckets myself and just play the right way,” Gal said. “I’m still going to play the right way, play good defense and I got a couple of shots off which was good.”
Temple controlled this game from the beginning and the scoring was spread all the way around as all but one Owl found the bottom of the net and six of them got double digit points. Mason was all over the stat sheet as he finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists and did not miss a shot from the field or the free throw line.
The rim was as big as ever for the Owls as they finished the game shooting 59 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc. The same could not be said for the Lions as the lid continued to stay on as they shot 35 percent from the field, 24 percent from beyond the three point line and 48 percent from the foul line. Santucci and Rivera did their job contributing in all facets of the game as they each scored double digits, each had at least three rebounds and Rivera finished with five assists.
The Owls will remain home when St. Francis Red Flash comes to town on Sunday at Noon.