PHILADELPHIA - Arizona State grabbed a building record 53 rebounds, including 25 off the offensive glass, to defeat Temple, 65-62, at the Liacouras Center Tuesday evening. The Owls had possession with six seconds remaining, but a three-pointer at the buzzer by sophomore guard Dustin Salisbery was off the mark and Temple suffered its second home court heart-breaker of the young campaign after a season-opening 80-78 defeat to Auburn 11 days ago.
Both teams struggled from the field, as Temple (1-3) made just 32.3 percent (20-62) of its shots while Arizona State (4-1) tweaked the twine on only 33.3 percent (21-63) of its attempts. Such a scenario would typically benefit the Owls and their gritty style, but the Sun Devils compensated for their 15 turnovers by depositing 17 second chance points in a contest that featured seven lead changes and 12 ties. Temple was unable exploit its size advantage and was out-scored in the paint 26-22.
All-America candidate Ike Diogu and sophomore forward Serge Angounou proved a dynamic duo for the Sun Devils, each posting double-doubles. Diogu extended his nation's best double-figure scoring streak to 64 games with 15 points, while grabbing 16 rebounds. Angounou scored 13 points and contributed 14 boards as four Sun Devils scored in double-figures, including guards Steve Mooore (13) and Kevin Kruger (12).
Salisbury and freshman Mark Tyndale each scored 15 points to pace the Owls while Tyndale also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and three steals. Juniors Antywane Robinson and Mardy Collins deposited 11 and 10 points, respectively for the home squad which made 16 of its final 18 free throw attempts to finish 16-22 from the charity stripe.
The second half was an evenly played event in which neither team was able to establish an advantage greater than four points until a free throw by Kruger gave the visitors a 57-52 lead with 6:07 remaining. Temple proceeded to close that gap quickly, as a Salisbury lay-up knotted the score at 57 before ASU took advantage of a pair of Collins turnovers en route to a 61-57 edge on an Angounou layup with 2:04 showing on the clock.
After a Salisbury jumper, center Keith Butler stepped to the line with an opportunity to tie the game. The junior made one of two attempts and Temple trailed 61-60 with 51 seconds remaining. The two teams committed turnovers on their next possessions before Moore extended ASU's lead, 63-60, with a pair of free throws with half a minute remaining.
Sophomore Wayne Marshall then missed a short jumper and Angounou stepped to the charity stripe with 11 seconds to play with an opportunity to seal the victory. He missed both attempts. Temple charged down the floor and Tyndale was fouled. He responded by converting both free throws, to make it 63-62 with just nine seconds to play. The chess match at the foul line continued at the other end of the floor, where Moore deposited both attempts with seven seconds remaining to register the 65-62 final.
The first half featured five ties and three lead changes as neither team played comfortable with an advantage.
Robinson deposited a three-footer to open the scoring after both teams failed on their initial possessions. The squads then traded baskets and ASU's Tim Pierce converted a pair of free throws before a Robinson trey
provided Temple a 7-4 advantage with 15:24 on the first half clock. Diogu posted his first points on a slam dunk at 15:13 to reduce the deficit to 7-6. Moore then drained a three-pointer to give the Sun Devils their first lead of the contest, 9-7.
The Owls responded to the challenge, scoring the game's next five points. After Angounou hit a jumper to halt the run, Temple scored the next five points to take an eight-point, 19-11 lead, the home squad's largest of the game after a Tyndale three-pointer at 10:16.
Diogu deposited his next points on a lay-up to start a 10-2 Arizona State run that would result in a 21-21 tie on the heels of a Kruger three-pointer with 8:08 remaining before the break. The teams swapped baskets before a pair of Diogu free throws gave the visitors a 25-23 advantage at the 5:01 mark.
Arizona State scored on each of its next two trips down the floor while Temple was off the mark. Diogu tipped-in a miss with 2:52 before intermission as ASU established an eight-point, 31-23 advantage, its largest of the contest. The tip-in contributed to ASU's 13 second chance points before the break while Temple managed just two digits on second efforts in the first 20 minutes. The Sun Devils grabbed 29 rebounds in the opening half, including 15 off the offensive glass. The Owls were also without Collins and Butler in the first half's latter stages after each was sidelined by Chaney with two personal fouls.
The Owls finished the first half on a 7-0 run, which included one of Robinson's three, three-pointers on the evening, and entered the locker room at the midpoint facing a 31-30 deficit. Both teams struggled from the floor in the initial stanza as Temple shot just 37.9 percent (11-29) while Arizona State made only 32.4 percent (11-34) of its attempts from the field. The only fast break points of the first half belonged to the Owls, who had six in transition with Collins running the point.
Temple returns to the hardwood this Saturday, December 4, versus rival Villanova in a 3:30 p.m. tip-off at the Palestra as part of the Philadelphia Big 5 Classic. The game will mark the 79th meeting between the schools dating back to the 1914-15 season with the series currently tied, 39-39. Plenty of tickets still remain for the contest that will not be televised.
