Temple University Athletics
Temple University
5-10, 0-5
Cincinnati
16-2, 5-0
Men's Basketball Falters Down the Stretch at #19/23 Cincinnati
1.14.14 | Men's Basketball
Box Score (PDF)Â | Dunphy Interview
CINCINNATI, Ohio - After taking a 49-47 lead with under seven minutes remaining, Temple found itself on the wrong end of a 22-9 closing run by #19/23 Cincinnati, and the Bearcats won 69-58. Cincinnati remains undefeated in American Athletic Conference play at 5-0, and improves to 16-2 overall.
Dalton Pepper led Temple (5-10, 0-5) with 21 points including four three-pointers. Quenton DeCosey added 17 points, and Anthony Lee notched his seventh double-double of the season with 11 rebounds to go with 14 points.
Temple was without the services of junior and second-leading scorer Will Cummings, who is medically cleared to play but stayed back to rest due to the flight and quick turnaround between games. Cummings had returned to the court vs. Memphis (Jan. 11) after sitting out the second half of the USF game (Jan. 9) with concussion-like symptoms.
The Bearcats got a game-high 23 points from Sean Kilpatrick who hit 6-of-13 from behind the arc. Titus Rubles scored 13 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for Cincinnati.
It took the Owls awhile to get going in the second half, and a two-point halftime deficit turned into a seven-point deficit before they hit their first field goal. Temple tied the game at 35 near the 12-minute mark, but would again trail by seven before rallying to take the lead.
Lee hit a pair of free throws to start a 10-2 run for the Owls that included a pair of buckets for DeCosey. Josh Brown gave Temple its first lead of the second half, 47-45 at 7:23, and Pepper later made it 49-47 on a jumper at 6:43.
That would be the Owls' last field goal until near the two-minute mark as Cincinnati surged ahead. Kilpatrick drained two treys in a 14-1 run for the Bearcats, giving them a 61-50 lead at 2:48. Temple came within six in the closing minutes but could get no closer.
The first half was a low-scoring one with some sloppy play by both teams, particularly the Owls with 13 turnovers. Helping Temple's cause was 33.3 percent shooting by the Bearcats, who were able to lead by no more than 10 despite the Owls' struggles.
An 11-0 Cincinnati run gave the Bearcats their first double-digit lead of 21-11 with seven minutes left in the half, and they later matched that lead with Kilpatrick's second three-pointer of the game at 3:32. His bucket would prove to be the last of the half for the Bearcats.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Pepper started an 8-0 run to close the half for Temple, as the Owls narrowed a 10-point deficit to just two by the break. Brown fed Lee for a dunk with just four seconds remaining for the halftime tally of 27-25.
The Owls finished with 15 turnovers, but committed only two of those in the second half. They shot 42 percent for the game compared to Cincinnati's 41 percent, and were out-rebounded by only one, 36-35.
Next up for Temple is a break from conference action, as the Owls will face La Salle on Saturday, Jan. 18 at noon at the Palestra. ESPN's College GameDay Covered by State Farm will be originating from the building beginning at 10 a.m., and the Philadelphia Big 5 game will be shown on ESPN2.
