Penn Hands Men's Basketball First Home Loss, 77-70

Saturday, January 19

Philadelphia, Pa.

5:00 p.m.

Temple University

14-4

Penn

11-6

Penn

Temple

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Penn Hands Men's Basketball First Home Loss, 77-70

1.19.19 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Ernest Aflakpui's career performance wasn't enough for Temple men's basketball as the Owls came up short 77-70 to Penn (11-6) in a Philadelphia Big 5 contest. It was the first home loss of the season for Temple (14-4), who lost its chance to share the Big 5 title and finishes at 2-2 in city series play.

Game Summary
> The Quakers, who can now defeat Saint Joseph's next weekend to earn their first outright Big 5 title since 2002, were the aggressor all game long.
> Penn led for all but 19 seconds of the contest and by as many as 13 points with 11:42 left.
> Temple cut a late 11-point deficit down to five with 1:13 remaining, but could get no closer.
> Penn shot 60 percent from the field in the second half and made 12 three-pointers in the game while the Owls hit just 3-for-11.
> The Owls had won four straight and were 7-0 at home prior to the loss.

Individual Highlights
> Aflakpui added a career-high 15 rebounds to a career- and game-high 21 points, hitting 9-of-13 from the field and also leading all players with three steals.
> The rebound total for Aflakpui is the most for a Temple player since Jaylen Bond also grabbed 15 boards in the final game of the 2015-16 season.
> Three other players reached double figures in scoring for the Owls, with Shizz Alston, Jr. posting 14 points, Nate Pierre-Louis adding 13 and Quinton Rose scoring 12.

First Half
> Temple's offense was sluggish throughout the period, with the Owls forcing shots and recording assists on just three buckets, including two in the final minute and a half.
> Temple shot just 34 percent to Penn's 46 percent, and J.P. Moorman II hit the lone three-pointer in five attempts for the Owls.
> Penn held a lead for nearly the entire 20 minutes apart from a 20-second stretch when De'Vondre Perry converted a three-point play.
> It was a one-possession game for the opening 12 minutes before the Quakers pulled away with a 7-0 run and held at least a six-point lead the rest of the period.
> Penn's Jakub Mijakowski hit back-to-back three-pointers in the final minute to put the Owls down 12, but a late Aflakpui layup put Temple within 10 at the break, 35-25.

Second Half
> After the Owls cut their deficit to four early in the second half, Penn surged back ahead and held a double-digit lead for much of the period.
> Temple showed some flashes of offense that made it a two-possession game, and the Owls used a 6-0 run to cut an 11-point deficit at 2:13 down to a five-point gap at 1:13.
> Penn had an answer every time, and a Jake Silpe three-pointer at 39 seconds was the dagger for the Owls.

Up Next
> Temple will play AAC foe Memphis in the second of three straight home games at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24 (CBSSN / 1210 AM WPHT).