Men's Basketball Dominates in 86-62 Win at UCF

Wednesday, January 28

Orlando, Fla.

7:00 p.m.

Temple University

14-7, 5-3

UCF

9-11, 2-7

Temple

UCF

Jesse Morgan

Photo by: Jessica Hill

Men's Basketball Dominates in 86-62 Win at UCF

1.28.15 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

ORLANDO - Everything clicked on both ends of the floor for Temple men's basketball in a dominating, 86-62 win at UCF on Wednesday night. The Owls (14-7, 5-3) shot 50 percent from the field overall and nearly 56 percent from long range, hitting 10 three-pointers and pulling away early in the contest.

Four players finished in double figures for Temple, led by senior guard Jesse Morgan with 15 points. Morgan hit 3-of-6 from long range, while junior guard Quenton DeCosey hit 3-of-5 and finished with 13 points.

Senior guard Will Cummings was 6-of-6 from the line on his way to 14 points, and junior guard Devin Coleman came off the bench for a season-high 14 points, hitting 6-of-7 from the field including both of his attempts from behind the arc. Junior Devontae Watson was just shy of a double-double with a season-high nine points to go with a season-high nine rebounds, and freshman Obi Enechionyia also finished nine points.

Temple took the lead for good in the third minute, and led by no fewer than 12 for the final 24 minutes of the game. The Owls built a 19-point halftime lead to as many as 34 points before the final buzzer. Their final point total of 86 is the most so far this season, while the 34-point lead with 2:36 remaining is also the largest.

UCF (9-11, 2-7) had two players finish in double figures, led by Brandon Goodwin with 17 points. The Knights were without leading scorer B.J. Taylor (14.1 ppg) who was scratched from the game due to a concussion. The Owls forced UCF into 16 turnovers and committed only eight. The battle of the glass also went to Temple, particulary on the offensive boards where the Owls finished with a 13-6 edge and scored 15 second-chance points to the Knights' four.

The three-pointers fell quickly and early for Temple, with Morgan leading the way. He hit three of his first four attempts, giving the Owls a 15-8 lead at 11:26 of the first half.

After a slow few minutes for both teams, UCF cut the margin to three at 9:07, but a 10-2 Temple run followed. The run was sparked by Coleman, who came off the bench to hit all three of his field goal attempts in the first half including two from long range.

With just over four and a half minutes to go in the first half, the Owls' double-digit lead was cut down to nine, 27-18 by UCF's Staphon Blair, but it would prove to be the final bucket of the half for the Knights. Daniel Dingle hit Temple's sixth bucket from three-point range to start a 10-0 closing run for the Owls.

The final points of the half came from Cummings who hit a pair at the line to give Temple its largest lead of 19 at the break, 37-18. It marked the second game in a row for the Owls leading by 19 at halftime, their largest halftime lead of the season.

UCF struck first with a three-pointer early in the second half, but it was the Owls who took over the momentum from there. Four different players scored in an 11-0 run over a three-minute span that gave Temple a 48-21 lead at 16:06.

Trading buckets was the most the Knights could do, while small runs for Temple continued to widen the gap. Back-to-back dunks for Enechionyia near the three-minute mark were part of a 7-0 run in which he scored all seven points, giving the Owls their 34-point lead, 84-50 with 2:36 remaining.

Temple has won two straight by an average margin of 24.5 points, and will look to keep its momentum going back at home this weekend. The Owls will host Tulane at noon on Saturday, Jan. 31 (CBSSN/1210 AM WPHT) after beating the Green Wave 64-56 on the road Jan. 7.

Box Score