Men's Basketball Beats Clemson to Win Gildan Charleston Classic

Sunday, November 19

Charleston, S.C.

9:30 p.m.

Temple University

3-0

Clemson

4-1

Temple

Clemson

Photo by: Zach Bland

Men's Basketball Beats Clemson to Win Gildan Charleston Classic

11.20.17 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Video Highlights

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Five players reached double figures in scoring to lead Temple men's basketball to a 67-60 win over Clemson (4-1) and to a team title at the 2017 Gildan Charleston Classic. The perfect start to the season marks the first time in program history that Temple (3-0) has opened the season with three straight wins away from home.

Tournament Notes
> Senior forward Obi Enechionyia was named the Gildan Charleston Classic MVP, while sophomore guard Quinton Rose notched the first double-double of his career against Clemson and also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
> The regular season tournament title is the second in a row for the Owls, who won the NIT Season Tip-Off a year ago. Prior to that victory, Temple's last title in a regular season tournament came in the 1998-99 season.
> The Charleston Classic win is the first for Temple in three appearances, with the Owls' overall record at the tournament now 7-2.

Keys to the Game
> Temple never trailed in the second half, but saw a 14-point lead dwindle down to four points on three occasions in the final minute.
> Shizz Alston, Jr. hit 4-of-4 at the free throw line to extend the Owls' lead to six on each of the last two times the Tigers cut the deficit to four.
> The Owls drained 10 three-pointers for the third time in as many games this season, getting three apiece from Josh Brown and Alani Moore II.

Individual Highlights
> Alston finished with a team-high 14 points, followed by Brown with 13. Enechionyia and Moore scored 12 points apiece, and Rose rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.
> Rose, who also recorded four assists and two steals, led all players with a career-high 11 rebounds to record his first career double-double.
> With 6-of-6 free throws overall in the game, Alston extended his streak of free throws made to 42. The streak, which is the second-longest in program history behind Lynn Greer's 49 straight free throws, began in December of 2016. Alston is 14-for-14 so far this season.

First Half
> Despite six ties and four lead changes, the Owls took the lead for good with just under eight minutes remaining and led for 12 minutes total in the period.
> Moore came off the bench and was an immediate difference-maker, scoring eight straight points and a team-best 11 overall on 4-of-6 field goal shooting including 3-of-5 from three-point range.
> Although Clemson had a size advantage in its front court, the Owls earned a 21-13 advantage on the glass in the half, and had a 9-3 edge in second-chance points.
> Temple's largest lead was eight points, 37-29 with 1:13 left, but two Clemson free throws were the final points of the period. The Owls took a 37-31 lead into the break.

Second Half
> Just before the 13-minute mark, Brown hit his third triple in a row for Temple's largest lead of 14 points, 50-36.
> Clemson responded with a 7-0 run before the Owls got it back to an 11-point lead on a Rose jumper at 7:47.
> Temple was unable to score for over five minutes, but Clemson's pace also slowed in that stretch. Alston hit a trey at 2:37, giving the Owls a 60-50 lead.
> In just over a minute of play, the Tigers scored six unanswered to make it a four-point game with 52 seconds remaining. From there, Rose and Alston were solid at the stripe to keep Temple in the lead.

Next Up
> Temple will have a week off from competition before heading up Broad Street to face Big 5 rival La Salle at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 26 (NBC Sports Network / 1210 AM WPHT).