Josh Brown's Game-Winner Lifts Men's Basketball Past SMU, 66-64

Wednesday, January 10

Dallas, Texas

8:00 p.m. CST / 9:00 p.m. EST

Temple University

8-8, 1-4AAC

SMU

12-6, 2-3AAC

Temple

SMU

Photo by: Hua Zong

Josh Brown's Game-Winner Lifts Men's Basketball Past SMU, 66-64

1.10.18 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Fran Dunphy Post-SMU Interview Video Highlights

DALLAS - Senior Josh Brown elevated for a five-foot jump hook with just 1.2 seconds left to lift Temple men's basketball to a 66-64 win at SMU (12-6, 2-3), snapping a five-game losing streak for the Owls (8-8, 1-4) and giving them their first American Athletic Conference victory. Sophomore Quinton Rose was the leader for Temple, scoring 23 points to help the Owls end the Mustangs' 33-game home win streak.

Keys to the Game
> Temple made a late first-half run to lead by six at the break, and continued to lead until the final three minutes of the contest.
> The Owls pushed their advantage to as many as 13 points with 10:18 remaining, but cooled down from the field and were also plagued by ball-handling issues down the stretch.
> SMU used a 19-3 run to tie and take a three-point lead with 1:46 left. Senior Obi Enechionyia made back-to-back buckets, the first a three-pointer, tying the game on both.
> After a defensive stop, Temple ran down the clock for the final bucket and Brown hit the game-winner for the third time in his career.

Individual Highlights
> After struggling in the last two games, Rose came alive to hit 9-of-14 from the field including 3-of-5 three-pointers en route to his team-high 23 points.
> Enechionyia finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
> Brown and sophomore Alani Moore II led Temple with four assists each, and freshman Nate Pierre-Louis came off the bench for seven rebounds and five points.
> Brown had previously hit game-winners in the final seconds at UConn (1/5/16) and at Memphis (2/7/15).
> Shake Milton scored a game-high 25 points for SMU and hit 4-of-7 from long range along with 5-of-6 free throws.

First Half
> The game had gone past the 10-minute mark before either team ever strung two baskets together in a row.
> Down 16-12 with 9:09 left, Shizz Alston, Jr. and Pierre-Louis hit back-to-back three-pointers for the first run of the game, but a tie and six lead changes followed.
> SMU put together its own 6-0 run for a 25-21 lead at 5:16, but the Owls held the Mustangs to just a single long-range bucket in the remaining time.
> In the final 2:12, Temple closed the half on an 8-0 run to take the largest lead of the game to that point, 34-28 at the break.

Second Half
> Rose exploded early in the period, scoring all 14 points in a 14-5 run as the Owls took a 12-point, 48-36 lead at 14:07.
> SMU's Milton answered with five straight points to cut the deficit back to seven, but Temple allowed just two free throws by the Mustangs over the next three minutes as the Owls went back ahead, this time by 13, 56-43 at the midway point.
> That lead would prove to be the largest for Temple, as it was nearly all SMU the rest of the way.
> A string of turnovers and five minutes without a field goal helped SMU come all the way back, a run that eventually stretched to 19-3, giving the Mustangs a three-point lead at 62-59 with 1:46 left.
> Enechionyia drained a trey at 1:37 to tie, and tied it up again with a jumper on the Owls' next possession.
> With a stop at SMU's end, Temple held on for the last bucket and Brown sank a baseline jumper with 1.2 seconds left for the game-winner.

Head Coach Fran Dunphy - Postgame
"We made a couple big shots, Obi with those two huge buckets and Josh's jumper hook in the lane was great. He's done that before so he's used to it by this time. You know SMU is going to make a run. They really pushed the tempo...(for our guys) that's the kind of performance we need from them all the time. They're capable...This is a really good SMU team and I'm so proud of our guys for weathering the storm, as it were. Josh wanted it at the end and felt like he could do it again and he did...I'm really happy for them that they got this win tonight."

Up Next
> The Owls return home to host Memphis on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. (CBSSN / 1210 AM WPHT).