Record-Setting Defensive Effort Leads to 55-37 Men's Basketball Win Over Tulane

Saturday, January 31

Liacouras Center

12:00 p.m.

Temple University

15-7, 6-3

Tulane

13-9, 4-6

Tulane

Temple

Quenton DeCosey

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Record-Setting Defensive Effort Leads to 55-37 Men's Basketball Win Over Tulane

1.31.15 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Behind a defensive effort that held visiting Tulane (13-9, 4-6) to a Liacouras Center record-low eight points in the first half, Temple men's basketball cruised to a 55-37 win over the Green Wave on Saturday afternoon. The Owls (15-7, 6-3) were fueled by a hot start in their third straight win, jumping out to a 12-0 lead and never looking back.

Junior guard Quenton DeCosey hit 3-of-4 from behind the arc in the first half alone and finished with 17 points to lead Temple. Senior guard Will Cumming added six rebounds and a game-high six assists to 13 points, and now needs just 14 more points to reach 1,000 for his career.

Freshman forward Obi Enechionyia was strong off the bench with 12 points and three blocks, while junior forward Jaylen Bond led all players with 10 rebounds.

Tulane's 37 points matched the lowest total for an opponent in the Fran Dunphy era, with the Owls also achieving that feat against American in the 2014-15 season opener. For the program, it marks the first time since the 1993-94 season that Temple has held two opponents to under 40 points.

The Owls set the tone early for what would become an impressive first half, making their first four shots from the field in the first two and a half minutes. DeCosey hit the first two of those, both from behind the arc, and at 17:35 Temple already held a 10-0 lead.

The lead would become 12-0 before the Green Wave finally got on the board four and a half minutes in. DeCosey's third trey of the game at 13:41 started an 8-0 run that put the Owls up 22-4 with 7:42 left in the half.

Both teams suffered a dry spell over the next five minutes, but Temple's defense continued to impress. The Owls held Tulane without a field goal for close to 13 minutes, and the Green Wave finished the half shooting just 12.5 percent.

Tulane missed three shots in the final minute that would have put its score in double digits. On Temple's final possession, Enechionyia drained a three-pointer just before the buzzer to give the Owls their largest halftime lead of the year, 28-8.

Temple held Tulane's starters to zero points in the first half. The Green Wave got seven points off the bench from Kajon Mack.

The Green Wave's eight points remained their total for the first three minutes of the second half as Temple built its lead to 25, 33-8. Tulane reached double figures on a three-pointer with 17 minutes left, a bucket that started a 12-0 run for the Green Wave.

That run cut Temple's lead to 13 points, 33-20 with 14:13 left, but Tulane would get no closer in the contest. Enechionyia scored seven points in a 14-5 run for the Owls over the next seven minutes, putting them back ahead by a comfortable margin of 22.

The Green Wave had one more strong spurt with an 8-0 run to come within 14 near the five-minute mark. The Owls ended any hope of a comeback with an 8-2 run over the next four minutes, thanks to four points apiece from Cummings and DeCosey, and two blocks on the defensive end by Enechionyia.

Temple will be on the road for its next two contests, starting with a 6:30 p.m. game at USF on Wednesday, Feb. 4 (ESPNews/1210 AM WPHT).

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