Temple University Athletics
Temple University
5-9, 0-4
Memphis
12-3, 3-1
#24/22 Memphis Defeats Men's Basketball, 79-69
1.11.14 | Men's Basketball
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PHILADELPHIA - The #24/22 Memphis Tigers proved too much to handle for Temple men's basketball on Saturday afternoon, as Memphis (12-3, 3-1) won 79-69 and dominated the Owls (5-9, 0-4) on the glass all contest.
Shaq Goodwin's double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds led the Tigers, who out-rebounded Temple 45-28, which included a 16-5 edge on the offensive glass.
Dalton Pepper scored 24 total points to lead Temple, and scored eight of those over the final 6:45, once bringing the Owls to within as few as five. They were able to get no closer, and Memphis out-scored Temple 10-5 over the final three minutes and 15 seconds.
Temple also got 18 points from Quenton DeCosey, who has scored in double figures in all 14 games this season. Both DeCosey and Pepper hit 50 percent from the field, and Pepper added eight boards to his 24 points.
Will Cummings scored 11 points and dished a team-high five assists, returning to the court in fine form after suffering concussion-like symptoms two days ago against USF.
After falling into an early 13-4 hole in the first half, the Owls picked up the pace with six straight points, which turned into a 12-5 run.
Over a 30-second span starting near the eight-minute mark, Pepper followed a three-pointer with two free throws, giving the Owls their first lead since the opening minute, 21-20 at 7:41.
Temple briefly led by two at 24-22 before a 7-0 run for the Tigers put them up by five at 29-24 at 4:30. It would be their largest lead the rest of the way, as the Owls hit three treys in the final minutes, the last by Pepper with just seconds remaining on the clock.
Pepper's three-pointer capped a 7-2 closing run that put the Owls up by a point at the break, 37-36. Their lead came despite a heavy Memphis advantage on the glass in the first period, 26-16. The Tigers had nine second-chance points compared to zero for Temple.
DeCosey led all players with 12 points at halftime, and Pepper had 10. Goodwin had 11 points to lead Memphis at the break, including 7-of-9 at the free throw line.
The Owls led by as many as four on two occasions early in the second half. After the eighth tie of the game, 51-51 at 12:21, the Tigers took a lead on a three-pointer by Michael Dixon, Jr., and never relinquished it.
Temple cut a 10-point deficit to five in the final four minutes, but could get no closer. After a three-pointer by Pepper at 2:19, Memphis scored six unanswered points to lead by 12 with under 30 seconds remaining.
Next up is another tough contest for Temple as the Owls travel to league-leading Cincinnati on Tuesday, Jan. 14 for a 9:00 p.m. game.
