Temple University Athletics
Friday, November 25
Brooklyn, N.Y.
3:00 p.m.
Temple University
4-2
81
vs
77
West Virginia
4-1
1
2
F
Temple
45
36
81
West Virginia
25
52
77
Men's Basketball Captures NIT Season Tip-Off Title with Upset of No. 19/17 West Virginia
11.25.16 | Men's Basketball
BROOKLYN - Two upsets in two days have made Temple men's basketball the 2016 NIT Season Tip-Off champions, as the Owls (4-2) won the tournament with an 81-77 upset of No. 19/17 West Virginia (4-1) at Barclays Center on Friday afternoon. Four players scored in double figures for Temple, led by Tournament MVP Obi Enechionyia with a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Temple's back-to-back wins over Top 25 opponents mark the first time in almost 16 years the Owls have achieved that feat, since doing so in the 2001 NCAA Tournament against No. 18 Texas and No. 8 Florida. The regular season tournament championship is the first for the Owls since a Coaches vs. Cancer Classic title in 1998 at Madison Square Garden.
The Owls had a huge, 20-point lead after an outstanding first half, but it was entirely erased by the Mountaineers with nine minutes left in the game. Neither team led by more than four points down the stretch, which saw three ties and a pair of lead changes.
Temple's performance at the free throw line was its key to victory, as the Owls hit 21-of-24 in the game and 3-of-4 in the final 14 seconds.
Also named to the All-Tournament Team was Daniel Dingle, who scored 15 points including three treys in the win. Freshman Alani Moore II had his best game of the young season, scoring 18 points and hitting 8-of-8 at the foul line. Fellow freshman Quinton Rose had his third impressive outing in a row, scoring 12 points.
Four players also scored in double figures for WVU, led by All-Tournament Team selection Esa Ahmad with 19 points.
The first two minutes of the game would offer no indication of the outstanding first half the Owls would go on to have, as WVU led 7-0 before Temple began to turn it on. Once they did, the Owls used a 13-0 to take a 13-7 lead at 13:44 and would continue to build their lead for the rest of the half.
Temple earned its first double-digit lead with a 9-0 run at the midway point of the first period. The Mountaineers twice cut the margin back to nine, the second at 5:27, but it was all Temple from there. In nearly every instance in which WVU stopped a short run by the Owls, it was Enechionyia who would answer.
West Virginia averaged just 10 turnovers per game over its first four games, while also averaging 16 fewer turnovers than its opponents. Temple flipped the script on that statistic in the first half, forcing 11 turnovers on the Mountaineers and earning a 16-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
Closing out the half on a 15-6 run, the Owls took a 20-point, 45-25 lead at halftime. Enechionyia finished the half with 18 points to lead all scorers, hitting 4-of-5 of his attempts from long range.
Temple looked out of sorts early in the second half, committing five turnovers in just over a minute. The Owls were able to keep their lead in double digits for nearly eight minutes, but the Mountaineers cut the margin to nine points at 12:19.
After hitting five field goal attempts in a row, West Virginia completed an 8-0 run to cut Temple's lead to three, 60-57 near the midway point. The first tie of the game came with 9:16 left, and it was a nail-biter from there.
Moore was a huge factor for the Owls in the second half, scoring 11 of his 18 points and hitting all eight of his free throws. Two of those cut a three-point WVU lead to one point at 7:13, and after a pair of free throws by Rose gave the Owls the lead back at 7:01, they held it the rest of the way. Up by just a point with 37 seconds remaining, Moore came up with a critical offensive rebound. After a timeout and solid clock management, Moore was fouled 20 seconds later and hit both attempts for an 80-77 lead despite a WVU timeout after the first.
Enechionyia rebounded a miss on the Mountaineers' final field goal attempt with three seconds left, hitting 1-of-2 at the line and sealing the win for the Owls.
Temple will be back closer to home for its next game, heading to nearby Saint Joseph's for a Philadelphia Big 5 contest at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 30 (CBSSN / 1210 AM WPHT).
Box Score (PDF) l Photo Gallery | Video Highlights
Temple's back-to-back wins over Top 25 opponents mark the first time in almost 16 years the Owls have achieved that feat, since doing so in the 2001 NCAA Tournament against No. 18 Texas and No. 8 Florida. The regular season tournament championship is the first for the Owls since a Coaches vs. Cancer Classic title in 1998 at Madison Square Garden.
The Owls had a huge, 20-point lead after an outstanding first half, but it was entirely erased by the Mountaineers with nine minutes left in the game. Neither team led by more than four points down the stretch, which saw three ties and a pair of lead changes.
Temple's performance at the free throw line was its key to victory, as the Owls hit 21-of-24 in the game and 3-of-4 in the final 14 seconds.
Also named to the All-Tournament Team was Daniel Dingle, who scored 15 points including three treys in the win. Freshman Alani Moore II had his best game of the young season, scoring 18 points and hitting 8-of-8 at the foul line. Fellow freshman Quinton Rose had his third impressive outing in a row, scoring 12 points.
Four players also scored in double figures for WVU, led by All-Tournament Team selection Esa Ahmad with 19 points.
The first two minutes of the game would offer no indication of the outstanding first half the Owls would go on to have, as WVU led 7-0 before Temple began to turn it on. Once they did, the Owls used a 13-0 to take a 13-7 lead at 13:44 and would continue to build their lead for the rest of the half.
Temple earned its first double-digit lead with a 9-0 run at the midway point of the first period. The Mountaineers twice cut the margin back to nine, the second at 5:27, but it was all Temple from there. In nearly every instance in which WVU stopped a short run by the Owls, it was Enechionyia who would answer.
West Virginia averaged just 10 turnovers per game over its first four games, while also averaging 16 fewer turnovers than its opponents. Temple flipped the script on that statistic in the first half, forcing 11 turnovers on the Mountaineers and earning a 16-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
Closing out the half on a 15-6 run, the Owls took a 20-point, 45-25 lead at halftime. Enechionyia finished the half with 18 points to lead all scorers, hitting 4-of-5 of his attempts from long range.
Temple looked out of sorts early in the second half, committing five turnovers in just over a minute. The Owls were able to keep their lead in double digits for nearly eight minutes, but the Mountaineers cut the margin to nine points at 12:19.
After hitting five field goal attempts in a row, West Virginia completed an 8-0 run to cut Temple's lead to three, 60-57 near the midway point. The first tie of the game came with 9:16 left, and it was a nail-biter from there.
Moore was a huge factor for the Owls in the second half, scoring 11 of his 18 points and hitting all eight of his free throws. Two of those cut a three-point WVU lead to one point at 7:13, and after a pair of free throws by Rose gave the Owls the lead back at 7:01, they held it the rest of the way. Up by just a point with 37 seconds remaining, Moore came up with a critical offensive rebound. After a timeout and solid clock management, Moore was fouled 20 seconds later and hit both attempts for an 80-77 lead despite a WVU timeout after the first.
Enechionyia rebounded a miss on the Mountaineers' final field goal attempt with three seconds left, hitting 1-of-2 at the line and sealing the win for the Owls.
Temple will be back closer to home for its next game, heading to nearby Saint Joseph's for a Philadelphia Big 5 contest at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 30 (CBSSN / 1210 AM WPHT).
Box Score (PDF) l Photo Gallery | Video Highlights
Team Stats
TU
WVU
FG%
.481
.433
3FG%
.526
.400
FT%
.875
.611
RB
33
38
TO
19
16
STL
7
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
1
Pts
18
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballEp. 2: Temple Football Alum Tyler Matakevich || Gymnastics Junior Amelia Budd
Friday, September 05
Elevate the Owls: Temple Athletics' Competitive Excellence Fund
Tuesday, September 02
Ep. 1: Head Football Coach K.C. Keeler || XC's David Litvin & WLAX's Amelia Wright
Friday, August 29
Introducing The Owl Pod: The Official Podcast of Temple Athletics!
Friday, August 22
