Temple University Athletics
Temple University
1-1
Kent State
2-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent State | 38 | 43 | 81 |
| Temple | 42 | 35 | 77 |
Late Second-Half Struggles Hurt Men's Basketball in 81-77 Home-Opening Loss to Kent State
11.11.13 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA - As the offense went cold for Temple men's basketball down the stretch of the second half, Kent State continued to push the pace and the Golden Flashes (2-0) handed the Owls (1-1) an 81-77 loss in Temple's home opener on Monday night.
Scoring was not an issue for Temple until the final six minutes, and five players scored in double figures for the Owls, led by Will Cummings with 17 points and a career-high seven assists. Anthony Lee recorded his second double-double in as many games, with 11 rebounds to go with 16 points.
Quenton DeCosey also finished with a career-high 16 points, scoring 13 of those in the second half. Dalton Pepper scored nine points in the second half to finish with 15 overall, and Mark Williams scored 11 points in only his second collegiate game.
Four players reached double figures for Kent State, led by Derek Jackson who hit 3-of-4 from behind the arc and scored 17 points.
The Golden Flashes fought back Temple runs all game long thanks to 11-of-22 shooting from behind the arc.
The Owls had a couple of runs in the first half and shot a solid 53.6 percent from the field, but were unable to distance themselves from the Flashes by the break.
An early 9-1 run put Temple ahead 21-11, which would be its largest lead of the half and the game. The Flashes then picked up the pace, hitting three of their seven first-half treys to take a 30-28 lead with 5:26 left in the first, but the Owls once again used a run to pull ahead.
After a 32-32 tie, Cummings scored five points in a 10-2 run, which was capped by a Pepper fastbreak layup to give the Owls a 42-35 lead in the final minute of the half.
Kent State's Jackson hit a shot clock buzzer-beating three-pointer with five seconds to go, cutting Temple's halftime lead to 42-38.
Cummings had 14 points to lead all players in the first half, while Jackson scored 13 for Kent State. Lee also reached double figures by halftime for the Owls with 12 points.
Scoring 12 of Temple's first 16 second-half points, DeCosey helped the Owls maintain the lead. His third three-pointer of the contest gave Temple a 58-51 lead with 12:19 remaining.
Kent State battled back, which would be a trend for the Flashes the rest of the way.
Pepper caught fire just past the midway point of the second half, scoring all of Temple's points in a 7-0 run for a 67-59 lead at 7:43, but Kent State rallied yet again. Pepper was the only player to score for the Owls over the next four minutes as the Flashes used a 13-2 run to take a three-point, 72-69 lead with 3:55 remaining in the game.
Temple came within two points on two occasions the rest of the way, with the second time being after the Flashes had gone ahead by six. Two tough breaks for the Owls proved costly, first with Temple players colliding on a rebound, and second when Cummings was called for a charge on an attempted layup after a steal with 20 seconds left.
Cummings then hit a big trey in the final seconds to pull Temple within two, 79-77, but Kent State's Devareaux Manley sealed the win by hitting 2-of-2 at the line.
Temple will not play at home again until Dec. 4 against Saint Joseph's. Next up for the Owls is a 7:30 p.m. game at CAA preseason favorite Towson on Thursday, Nov. 14.
