Temple University Athletics
Saturday, February 7
Memphis, Tenn.
1:00 p.m.
Temple University
17-7, 8-3
61
at
60
Memphis
14-9, 6-4
1
2
F
Temple
28
33
61
Memphis
38
22
60
Temple celebrating after the game-winning shot by Josh Brown
Photo by: Joe Murphy
Men's Basketball Wins a Stunner at Memphis, 61-60
2.7.15 | Men's Basketball
MEMPHIS - Josh Brown's jumper with 2.4 seconds left on the clock lifted Temple men's basketball to a stunning, come-from-behind 61-60 win at Memphis (14-9, 6-4) on Saturday afternoon. The Owls (17-7, 8-3) trailed by as many as 16 in the game and by a point with nine seconds remaining, but found a way to win their fifth straight game.
While in terms of percentage the Owls did not have a good game from the free throw line, it was the number of chances they earned that made the difference. Temple hit 20 of its 32 tries, getting nearly a third of its points at the stripe. Senior guard Jesse Morgan made all of his opportunities, going 10-of-10 at the line and finishing with a team-high 16 points.
For the Owls, it was their first win against Memphis since the 2000-01 season, having lost four straight to the Tigers including two last year. Since 2005-06, Memphis had previously lost just six games at home to conference opponents out of 92 total contests.
Also finishing in double figures for Temple were senior guard Will Cummings with 13 points and junior guard Quenton DeCosey with 10. Junior Devontae Watson had nine boards to lead the Owls.
The stories of the game for Memphis revolved around junior forward Shaq Goodwin and sophomore forward Austin Nichols. Goodwin pulled down 23 rebounds, with his previous career high having been 12. His total is five more than the next-closest single game high in the American Athletic Conference this season, which was Temple's Jaylen Bond with 18. The Tigers got a game-high 17 points from Nichols, but he was forced to leave the game with an apparent ankle injury with 10 minutes left.
Morgan's 10 free throws, all of which he made in the first half, kept Temple within striking distance in an otherwise lackluster period. The Owls hit 13 free throws overall, and only matched that number of points from the field.
Memphis led for the entire half after a slow start for the Owls that saw them hit just one of their first eight attempts from the field. Temple trailed by nine, 15-6 before a 6-0 run cut the deficit to three, but the Tigers took control from there. With a 13-3 run over the next four and a half minutes, Memphis took a 13-point lead and the Owls were not able to cut the margin to single digits the rest of the way.
Morgan hit 5-of-5 at the line in the final two minutes as part of a 8-2 closing run. The Tigers had led by as many as 16, but that run got the Owls within 10, 38-28 at halftime.
Memphis held a 29-14 edge on the glass at the break, with 16 of the Tigers' rebounds coming from Goodwin.
Temple came out of the locker room a new team, using an 11-2 opening run to come within a point, 40-39 with 16:04 left in the game. From that point on, the Owls never trailed by more than four, but it would take 11 more minutes for them to tie the game as the teams went back and forth down the stretch.
Bond made a pair of free throws with 4:24 remaining to cap an 8-0 run and give Temple its first lead of the contest, 56-54. Memphis had been held scoreless for four minutes before tying the game at 56, but Bond answered on the other end with a hook shot.
The final tie of the game came with one minute remaining on a 2-of-2 performance by Goodwin at the line for Memphis. Cummings was fouled on a drive at the other end, but hit just 1-of-2 for a 59-58 Temple lead and 35 seconds to go. Kedren Johnson made a big-time layup for Memphis with under 10 seconds remaining, forcing Temple to convert on its final possession.
Head coach Fran Dunphy refrained from calling a timeout and letting the Memphis defense get set, and the move paid off. Cummings got the ball to an open Brown on the right side, and he calmly drained the jumper off the glass for the win.
Temple will go for its sixth straight win back at home on Tuesday, Feb. 10 against Cincinnati. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network/1210 AM WPHT).
Box Score l Photo Gallery | Dunphy Interview | Brown Interview | Radio Call
While in terms of percentage the Owls did not have a good game from the free throw line, it was the number of chances they earned that made the difference. Temple hit 20 of its 32 tries, getting nearly a third of its points at the stripe. Senior guard Jesse Morgan made all of his opportunities, going 10-of-10 at the line and finishing with a team-high 16 points.
For the Owls, it was their first win against Memphis since the 2000-01 season, having lost four straight to the Tigers including two last year. Since 2005-06, Memphis had previously lost just six games at home to conference opponents out of 92 total contests.
Also finishing in double figures for Temple were senior guard Will Cummings with 13 points and junior guard Quenton DeCosey with 10. Junior Devontae Watson had nine boards to lead the Owls.
The stories of the game for Memphis revolved around junior forward Shaq Goodwin and sophomore forward Austin Nichols. Goodwin pulled down 23 rebounds, with his previous career high having been 12. His total is five more than the next-closest single game high in the American Athletic Conference this season, which was Temple's Jaylen Bond with 18. The Tigers got a game-high 17 points from Nichols, but he was forced to leave the game with an apparent ankle injury with 10 minutes left.
Morgan's 10 free throws, all of which he made in the first half, kept Temple within striking distance in an otherwise lackluster period. The Owls hit 13 free throws overall, and only matched that number of points from the field.
Memphis led for the entire half after a slow start for the Owls that saw them hit just one of their first eight attempts from the field. Temple trailed by nine, 15-6 before a 6-0 run cut the deficit to three, but the Tigers took control from there. With a 13-3 run over the next four and a half minutes, Memphis took a 13-point lead and the Owls were not able to cut the margin to single digits the rest of the way.
Morgan hit 5-of-5 at the line in the final two minutes as part of a 8-2 closing run. The Tigers had led by as many as 16, but that run got the Owls within 10, 38-28 at halftime.
Memphis held a 29-14 edge on the glass at the break, with 16 of the Tigers' rebounds coming from Goodwin.
Temple came out of the locker room a new team, using an 11-2 opening run to come within a point, 40-39 with 16:04 left in the game. From that point on, the Owls never trailed by more than four, but it would take 11 more minutes for them to tie the game as the teams went back and forth down the stretch.
Bond made a pair of free throws with 4:24 remaining to cap an 8-0 run and give Temple its first lead of the contest, 56-54. Memphis had been held scoreless for four minutes before tying the game at 56, but Bond answered on the other end with a hook shot.
The final tie of the game came with one minute remaining on a 2-of-2 performance by Goodwin at the line for Memphis. Cummings was fouled on a drive at the other end, but hit just 1-of-2 for a 59-58 Temple lead and 35 seconds to go. Kedren Johnson made a big-time layup for Memphis with under 10 seconds remaining, forcing Temple to convert on its final possession.
Head coach Fran Dunphy refrained from calling a timeout and letting the Memphis defense get set, and the move paid off. Cummings got the ball to an open Brown on the right side, and he calmly drained the jumper off the glass for the win.
Temple will go for its sixth straight win back at home on Tuesday, Feb. 10 against Cincinnati. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network/1210 AM WPHT).
Box Score l Photo Gallery | Dunphy Interview | Brown Interview | Radio Call
Team Stats
TU
MEM
FG%
.333
.379
3FG%
.214
.211
FT%
.625
.667
RB
36
45
TO
7
15
STL
10
5
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
10
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F/C
/ Men's BasketballEp. 9: Head Women's Soccer Coach Chris Shaw
Friday, October 03
Ep. 8: Temple Athletics Weekly Recap; Women's Cross Country Runner Amelia Sabatino
Tuesday, September 30
Ep. 7: Temple Field Hockey Alumna Cherifa Howarth
Friday, September 26
Ep. 6: Temple Athletics Weekly Recap; Field Hockey's Peyton Rieger
Tuesday, September 23
