COLLEGE BASKETBALL: La Salle Takes The W in Big 5 Game Against Temple 87-83
PHILADELPHIA-- The 11 point second-half Temple lead was not enough for the Owls (3-1, 0-1, Big 5) to come out with a win in a tough city series game against Philadelphia Big 5 rival La Salle University (4-3, 2-0, Big 5) on Sunday night at Tom Gola Arena. The Temple Owls held onto the lead throughout the game until the final minutes when La Salle’s ball handling and free-throw shooting allowed them to take the 87-83 victory.
The Explorers committed only four turnovers compared to the Owls’ 13, which turned into a 15-2 point differential in points off turnovers.
"They were good at taking care of the ball. That's what they're doing to teams, turning them over 12, 13 times,” said Temple head coach Fran Dunphy of La Salle’s ball handling. “I thought we made some poor decisions trying to go one-on-one a few too many times and it cost us.”
“We got our stops when we needed them the last three, four possessions and we made big shots and they just competed their hearts out,” La Salle head coach John Giannini said of his team. “I’m really proud of them.”
The Explorers went 14-15 from the line, including a 10-10 run in the final four minutes of the game to help secure the Big 5 win.
Redshirt junior Pookie Powell scored 29 points, a game-high, including his three-pointer in the last 40 seconds of the game which ultimately led to La Salle’s final push over the Owls.
“I felt confident when it left,” said Powell of his go-ahead shot. “The shot clock was going down and the ball was in my hand and Coach always tells me to make a play, so that is what I had to do.”
Senior B.J. Johnson added 25 points to La Salle’s total, while Tony Washington had 12 points of his own.
The Explorers fell behind early in the game 18-8 after the Owls went on a 9-2 run, including two free throws sunk by senior forward Obi Enechionyia. La Salle was 4-for-17 and had turned the ball over twice at this point in the half.
La Salle Junior Pookie Powell lead scorer with 29 points against the Owls (photo by: Patty Morgan for PSD)
Enechionyia totaled 16 points for Temple and hit 4-of-5 three-pointers which allowed him to reach the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career. He became Temple’s 52nd player in program history to reach this milestone.
The Blue and Gold offense began to heat up as they went 4-for-5 in the final nine minutes after a 0-for-5 start in the game.
As time ticked down, Temple out-shot La Salle 58.6 percent to 44.4 percent in the half.
At the start of the second half, Temple’s offensive came out explosive and scored on nine of their 10 possessions, which put them on top 66-55 with 10:57 remaining in the game.
Temple Senior forward Obi Enechionyia became the 52nd player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. (photo by: Patty Morgan for PSD)
However, the Explorers had a fire of their own. Powell scored seven points in an essential 11-0 La Salle run which tied the game at 66 with seven minutes remaining.
At the five-minute mark, Temple’s Quinton Rose, who was 10-for-17 from the field and had 21 points in the game, gave his team a one-point lead with a short jumper.
The Explorers’ offense went on a 15-7 run with 10 of their points coming from the free throw line.
The Owls committed three straight turnovers which forced them to go over a minute and a half without a shot.
Powell gave the Explorers the lead after a three-pointer with 39 seconds left. Sophomore Saul Phiri came up with a huge steal on the other side of the court shortly after with 20 seconds remaining.
Johnson sealed the victory for the Blue and Gold with two free throws and a blocked shot in the final seconds of the game.
“I thought Powell and Johnson were very, very good throughout. I thought we did a good job in the first 10 minutes and took care of our assignments...then they got hot and they did what they needed to do,” said Coach Dunphy. "It was an impressive performance by them and we just weren't good enough defensively after those first 10 minutes.”
Junior Shizz Aiston, Jr. scored 18 of Temple’s pointers, including going 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Aiston has made 44 consecutive free throws since last December.
The Temple Owls will travel to Madison Square Garden to play South Carolina at 9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30 in the Under Armour Reunion.
The Explorers have a small break as they will next take to the court on Dec 1-2 where the will travel to Belfast, Northern Ireland for the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic. They will take on Towson in their first game at 2 p.m. ET which will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
