Men's Basketball Beats Defending NCAA Champ UConn 75-63 on Senior Day

Saturday, March 7

Liacouras Center

2:00 p.m.

Temple University

22-9, 13-5

UConn

17-13, 10-8

UConn

Temple

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Men's Basketball Beats Defending NCAA Champ UConn 75-63 on Senior Day

3.7.15 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - With a 12-2 run late in an already impressive second-half performance, Temple men's basketball pulled away from defending NCAA champion UConn and beat the Huskies (17-13, 10-8) for a second time this season. The Owls (22-9, 13-5) won 75-63 in front of a sellout crowd of 10,206, led by their senior point guard Will Cummings with a season-high 23 points.

Temple trailed by five at halftime but held UConn to just four free throws in the first eight minutes of the second half while building a lead the Owls did not relinquish.

The Owls will now await other results in the American Athletic Conference to find out their seeding and match-up in next week's conference tournament, set for March 12-15 in Hartford, Conn., at the XL Center. Temple has clinched a first-round bye, and will play its first game on Friday, March 13.

Cummings added five assists and three steals to his strong Senior Day performance, with his 23 points including a 9-of-11 effort at the free throw line. Senior Jesse Morgan matched his season high in three-pointers in a game, hitting 5-of-7 from long range and scoring 17 points. Junior Quenton DeCosey also finished in double figures for the Owls with 15 points.

UConn and conference leading scorer Ryan Boatright finished with 25 points, but was effectively shut down by Morgan and Josh Brown in the second half. He scored 21 of his points in the first half but made just two buckets in the second, one of which was in the final minute with Temple well in the lead.

The Owls tied their season low with just four turnovers in the win, finishing with a huge, 26-6 advantage in points off turnovers thanks to forcing 14 on the Huskies.

Down 8-6 early in the first half, Temple used a 9-0 run to take its largest first-half lead of seven, 15-8 at 13:32. Morgan scored eight points early for the Owls, including two three-pointers, but those would be Temple's only treys of the period.

The Huskies answered with a 10-0 run to regain the lead, and did not relinquish it for the rest of the half. Temple was able to tie the score twice, and did so for the second time with 1:52 remaining after a 6-0 run.

Boatright then scored the final five points of the half to give the Huskies a 37-32 lead at the break. Cummings led the Owls with 12 points at halftime after hitting 6-of-7 at the line.

The Owls held the Huskies without a field goal for over eight minutes to start the second half, turning their five-point halftime deficit into a six-point, 47-41 lead. UConn made four free throws in that opening stretch, but did not hit a field goal until Rodney Purvis scored its first at 11:38.

Obi Enechionyia was instrumental in keeping Temple in the lead with six points over a four and a half minute stretch, and Morgan's fourth trey of the game at 7:35 put Temple up 58-52.

UConn was within four with 6:29 remaining before the Owls out-scored the Huskies 17-9 the rest of the way, including a 12-2 run over a four-minute stretch. Temple led by as many as 16 points twice in the final two minutes before UConn scored five of the final six points.

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