TAMPA –
The University of South Florida Bulls fell to the Temple Owls in overtime, 70-69. The Bulls had a chance to secure the win at the end of overtime, but came up short.
The game was a hard-fought battle throughout, beginning in the first half. Midway through the period, the Owls were leading by one point, 9-8. A layup by Shizz Alston Jr. followed by a three-pointer by De’Vondre Perry and a dunk by Quinton Rose gave Temple their biggest lead of the half, 8 points, 16-8. The Bulls fought back and went on and 8-0 scoring run of their own to tie the game at 16 with 5:33 to go in the half. They would go on to outscore the Owls 7-0 down the stretch, taking a 3 point 23-20 lead into halftime.
In the second half, USF would begin to pull away from the Owls. Midway through the period, with 9:39 left in the game, the Bulls’ lead was by nine, 45-36. Temple worked their way back into the game, though, pulling to within two, 49-47, with 5:21 on the clock. About a minute later, they had their first lead of the half, 52-51, with less than four minutes remaining in the game. The two teams tied twice more, at 56 with 2:01 to go and at 59 for the final buzzer in regulation.
Temple got out to a quick five point lead in overtime on a layup by Alston and a three point shot by J.P. Moorman, giving the Owls a 64-59 edge. A pair of free throws by David Collins and a three pointer by LaQuincy Rideau tied the game at 65 with 1:42 to go in overtime. A three point shot and a free throw by Alston extended the Temple lead to four, 69-65, with 45 seconds left in the period. Another pair of free throws followed by another Rideau layup tied the game again, this time at 69, with 11 seconds on the clock.
Alston would get fouled on the following possession, sending him to the line for two. He missed his first shot but made the second, giving Temple a 70-69 lead with 1.5 seconds to go in overtime. T.J. Lang inbounded the ball, throwing a baseball pass to Collins, who was posted up near the USF basket. Collins was fouled by two Temple players simultaneously, stopping the clock with 0.8 seconds. Collins, who was 6-6 in previous free throw attempts, missed both. Perry got the rebound for Temple, ending the game in overtime, 70-69.
Rideau led the Bulls in scoring with 16 points. Collins had 15 and Xavier Castaneda rounded out the three Bulls in double-digit scoring with 11. Alexis Yetna and Michael Durr came close to double-digit scoring with eight a piece, but led the team in rebounds with 13 and 11, respectively.
At time of publishing, Temple’s stats were not available due to a technical glitch. As those stats become available, this story will be updated.
After the game, head coach, Brian Gregory, met with the press. Along with having kind words for Temple coach, Fran Dunphy, he addressed the way the team lost in overtime.
“People are going to say it was two free throws at the end,” Said Gregory. “But, that didn’t cost us the game. Yes, if he makes of them we win the game. But, we made 6, 7, 8 critical errors, which is part of the game.”
Temple head basketball coach, Fran Dunphy, also spoke to the media.
“They have a really good program here, now,” said Dunphy. “Brian’s done a terrific job. I’m very proud of him and the way his team plays. They played really hard. We were lucky to come out with a victory tonight.”
One reporter compared Temple playing USF to the physicality of a football team and asked for Dunphy’s opinion on that.
“They play hard,” he said. “I’d say they compete as hard as anybody we play against. And we have some really good, competitive teams in our league, but they’re right at the top. They’re not backing down from anybody, and I give that credit to Brian. That’s the mindset he has brought and he has a great staff. They play really good basketball.”
Temple moves to 19-7 (9-4) with the win, sweeping the Bulls in their two game series. They will host Tulsa on February 23rd for a 12:00 PM EST tip-off.
The Bulls drop to 17-7 (7-5) with the loss. While they have been swept by Temple this season, the total point difference has been just three points. They will host Florida College on Wednesday, February 19th for a 4:00 PM EST tip-off. That game will not be televised.
