Men's Basketball Edges Missouri in 79-77 Road Win

Tuesday, November 27

Columbia, Mo.

9:00 p.m.

Temple University

6-1

Missouri

3-3

Temple

Mizzou

Photo by: Cassie Florido

Men's Basketball Edges Missouri in 79-77 Road Win

11.27.18 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Fran Dunphy Press Conference Box Score Video Highlights

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Four players scored in double figures for Temple men's basketball as the Owls (6-1) held off a late run by Missouri (3-3) for a 79-77 win in their first true road game of the season. Temple's ball-handling and contributions from the bench were key in withstanding the charge by the Tigers.

Game Summary
> The Owls led by 12 with seven minutes remaining, but went cold from the field as Missouri used an 11-1 run to make it a two-point game.
> After missing the front end of a 1-and-1 and also going 1-of-2 at the line a couple minutes later, senior and standout free-throw shooter Shizz Alston, Jr. regrouped to hit 2-of-2 and give the Owls a four-point lead with 11 seconds left.
> Missouri collected two offensive rebounds and hit a final bucket as time ran out, never getting within fewer than two points.
> Temple broke open a tight game in the final minutes of the first half, making seven of its final eight field goals in a 16-4 run that gave the Owls a 10-point, 42-32 lead at the break.
> The Owls committed just five turnovers in the contest while forcing 15 and finished with a 20-7 lead in points off turnovers.

Individual Highlights
> Junior Quinton Rose scored 18 points, dished three assists and tied his season high with four steals.
> Three others also scored in double figures for the Owls. Alston added 15 points along with a game-high six assists, sophomore De'Vondre Perry scored a season-high 11 points, and junior Damion Moore came off the bench for a season-high 10 points.
> Moore's 10 points came on 5-of-5 shooting from the field, and he also grabbed three boards while playing just 13 minutes due to foul trouble.
> Senior Ernest Aflakpui tied his career high of 12 rebounds to lead all players, also scoring eight points.

First Half
> The game was tightly contested for much of the period with neither team leading by more than five until the Owls made a run in the final minutes.
> After ties at 11, 16, 18, 26 and 28, Temple closed the half on a 16-4 run.
> Aflakpui's jumper at 3:20 was the first of five straight field goals in a row made by the Owls, and the beginning of a 9-0 run.
> Temple went on to make seven of its last eight attempts, capped by Alston's second trey of the game in the final seconds for a 10-point, 42-32 lead at halftime.
> The Owls held Missouri's leading scorer Jordan Geist without a point in the half, and also forced nine turnovers while committing just one. Temple finished with a 15-2 lead in points off turnovers in the opening period.
> Rose led all players with 13 points and three steals at the break, while Alston had 10 points to go with three assists.

Second Half
> After both teams made their first three shots from the field in the second half, Mizzou kept it going and the third of three shots from long range started a 7-0 run for the Tigers in a span of just one minute.
> Leading just 55-52, the Owls got buckets from Damion Moore at both ends of a 9-0 run to go back up by double digits.
> Temple led by 12, 70-58 with 7:21 to go on a Pierre-Louis fast break layup, but the Owls then went over five minutes without scoring from the field and making just one free throw.
> The Tigers roared back with a 9-0 run to make it a two-point game, matching that deficit twice more before the final tally, both times on Geist three-pointers.
> Aflakpui made a layup with an Alston assist at the one-minute mark for a four-point cushion, and Mizzou was forced to foul after a miss at the other end.
> In the final 27 seconds, Alston hit 3-of-4 at the line, making both shots with 11 seconds left.
> Two offensive rebounds allowed the Tigers to make a last-second jumper, but the Owls' lead was enough as Missouri ran out of time.

Next Up
> Temple will look to make it a 7-1 start overall and a 2-0 start in Big 5 play as the Owls head to Saint Joseph's for a 5:30 p.m. game on Saturday, Dec. 1 (NBCSN / 1210 AM WPHT).