Temple University Athletics
Sunday, February 21
Houston, Texas
7:00 p.m.
Temple University
17-9, 11-3
69
at
66
Houston
19-8, 9-6
1
2
F
Temple
30
39
69
Houston
25
41
66
Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University
Enechionyia Leads Men's Basketball to Come-From-Behind Win at Houston
2.21.16 | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON - Sophomore Obi Enechionyia scored a career-high 26 points to lead Temple men's basketball to a come-from-behind win at Houston, 69-66 on Sunday night. The Owls keep the top spot in the American Athletic Conference with a record of 11-3, and improve to 17-9 overall.
Temple has now won six straight conference games, with tonight's road victory avenging a 77-50 home loss to the Cougars (19-8, 9-6) on January 2.
The Owls led by 13 in the first half before falling behind by as many as 10 in the second. They closed the game on an 8-2 run with huge three-pointers for both Enechionyia and senior Devin Coleman. Sophomore Josh Brown hit a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining, and a final three-point shot for Houston missed the mark.
Brown led Temple with five assists, three steals and 10 rebounds, and scored nine points to finish just one point shy of a double-double. Enechionyia hit a career-best 6-of-9 from three-point range in his 26-point effort, while also pulling down seven boards.
Enechionyia hit three shots from long range in a 17-7 opening run for the Owls over the first six minutes of the contest. By the 11-minute mark, Temple had its lead up to 13 points, 22-9 on a pair of free throws for senior Quenton DeCosey.
From there, the Owls' shooting percentage began to fall as they suffered a cold spell for most of the next six minutes. In that time, the Cougars whittled Temple's lead all the way down to two points, 24-22 at 5:05.
Brown ended the drought with a layup that started a 6-1 run, putting the Owls back up by seven, 30-23 with 2:30 remaining. After four misses from the field for Houston and two for Temple, it looked as though the Owls would take that seven-point lead into the break. At the buzzer, Enechionyia was whistled for a foul on Houston's Devonta Pollard who made 2-of-3 free throws, narrowing the Owls' lead to 30-25 at the break.
Enechionyia's 13 first-half points led all scorers, while Rob Gray, Jr. had 11 for Houston.
Houston opened the second half much like Temple opened the first, using a 13-5 run to take a 38-35 lead in the first four minutes. The third tie of the second half came at 41-41, but Houston soon used an 8-0 run to take a 10-point, 54-44 lead at 11:05.
Down by eight, 59-51 with 6:49 remaining, Temple's shots finally began to fall. The Owls pulled within one on Coleman's first three-pointer at 4:36, 59-58, capping a 7-0 run. The Owls trailed by three, 64-61 with 1:40 remaining, but tied the game on Enechionyia's sixth trey with 57 seconds left.
After a Houston turnover, the Owls took advantage and Coleman's second three-pointer of the game was a big one with 16 seconds to go. The Cougars took time off the clock with two missed layups, but continued to get the offensive boards and pulled within a point with under 10 seconds remaining. They sent Brown to the line, who made a pair for the final tally of the game.
Box Score (PDF) | Video Highlights | Dunphy Press Conference
Temple has now won six straight conference games, with tonight's road victory avenging a 77-50 home loss to the Cougars (19-8, 9-6) on January 2.
The Owls led by 13 in the first half before falling behind by as many as 10 in the second. They closed the game on an 8-2 run with huge three-pointers for both Enechionyia and senior Devin Coleman. Sophomore Josh Brown hit a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining, and a final three-point shot for Houston missed the mark.
Brown led Temple with five assists, three steals and 10 rebounds, and scored nine points to finish just one point shy of a double-double. Enechionyia hit a career-best 6-of-9 from three-point range in his 26-point effort, while also pulling down seven boards.
Enechionyia hit three shots from long range in a 17-7 opening run for the Owls over the first six minutes of the contest. By the 11-minute mark, Temple had its lead up to 13 points, 22-9 on a pair of free throws for senior Quenton DeCosey.
From there, the Owls' shooting percentage began to fall as they suffered a cold spell for most of the next six minutes. In that time, the Cougars whittled Temple's lead all the way down to two points, 24-22 at 5:05.
Brown ended the drought with a layup that started a 6-1 run, putting the Owls back up by seven, 30-23 with 2:30 remaining. After four misses from the field for Houston and two for Temple, it looked as though the Owls would take that seven-point lead into the break. At the buzzer, Enechionyia was whistled for a foul on Houston's Devonta Pollard who made 2-of-3 free throws, narrowing the Owls' lead to 30-25 at the break.
Enechionyia's 13 first-half points led all scorers, while Rob Gray, Jr. had 11 for Houston.
Houston opened the second half much like Temple opened the first, using a 13-5 run to take a 38-35 lead in the first four minutes. The third tie of the second half came at 41-41, but Houston soon used an 8-0 run to take a 10-point, 54-44 lead at 11:05.
Down by eight, 59-51 with 6:49 remaining, Temple's shots finally began to fall. The Owls pulled within one on Coleman's first three-pointer at 4:36, 59-58, capping a 7-0 run. The Owls trailed by three, 64-61 with 1:40 remaining, but tied the game on Enechionyia's sixth trey with 57 seconds left.
After a Houston turnover, the Owls took advantage and Coleman's second three-pointer of the game was a big one with 16 seconds to go. The Cougars took time off the clock with two missed layups, but continued to get the offensive boards and pulled within a point with under 10 seconds remaining. They sent Brown to the line, who made a pair for the final tally of the game.
Box Score (PDF) | Video Highlights | Dunphy Press Conference
Team Stats
TU
HOU
FG%
.406
.361
3FG%
.400
.350
FT%
.583
.882
RB
40
42
TO
7
10
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
10
3FGM
6
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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