McKie Debut a Winner as Men’s Basketball Topples Drexel, 70-62

Tuesday, November 5

8:00 P.M.

Temple University

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Drexel

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Drexel

Temple

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

McKie Debut a Winner as Men’s Basketball Topples Drexel, 70-62

11.5.19 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Aaron McKie Media Conference Nate Pierre-Louis Media Conference J.P. Moorman II Media Conference

PHILADELPHIA – Aaron McKie made his debut as the Temple men's basketball head coach Tuesday night a successful one as the Owls held off city-foe Drexel for a 70-62 win in front of 7,025 fans at the Liacouras Center.

Game Summary
> Temple looked equally good and bad during their season-opener, making athletic plays like a first half tomahawk dunk by senior Quinton Rose while making unforced turnovers that kept them from pulling away from the upstart Dragons.
> Temple made 11 steals in the contests while forcing 17 Drexel turnovers. On the flipside, the Dragons won the battle of the boards, 46-39, and pulled down 16 offensive caroms.
> With the score deadlocked (31-31) at the half, junior Nate Pierre-Louis took over for the Owls. He scored 12 of his 14 second half points over a 10-minute stretch to lift Temple to a 54-42 advantage.
> Drexel hung around and eventually cut the deficit to five points, 65-60, with just over a minute to play, but a three-point play by senior guard Alani Moore II pushed it back to 68-60 and the Owls coasted home from there.

Individual Highlights
> Pierre-Louis filled out the stat sheet, leading the team in scoring (16 pts), rebounds (10) and steals (5). It was his fourth career double-double. He also added four assists.
> Senior Alani Moore II, making his first start since his freshman year, tallied nine points, grabbed five rebounds, dished a team-high five assists and made two steals. He also played a team-high 36 minutes.
> Rose scored 14 points and made 2-of-4 from long range.
> Senior J.P. Moorman II added nine points on four-of-five shooting while pulling down five rebounds.
> McKie used all 11 available scholarship players in the contest with all but Josh Pierre-Louis and Arashma Parks tallying points.

First Half
> There were four lead changes in the opening 20 minutes that started with a huge ovation when McKie was introduced over the public address system as the team's head coach.
> Leading 14-12 at the 11 minute mark, Temple went on an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to open up a 25-14 lead. Rose scored the first nine points for the Owls in the run, mixing in a three-pointer with his monster dunk that was also a three-point play. Pierre-Louis capped the run with a basket.
> Drexel then ran off eight straight points to cut the margin to 25-22, and eventually tied the game at 31 right before intermission.

Second Half
> After falling behind 36-31 to start the second half, Pierre-Louis took over. He turned a driving lay-up to a three-point play and Rose followed with a three to give the Owls the lead. He then made one of two free throws, made a layup and hit Monty Scott (6 pts) on a nifty pass for a reverse layup for a 42-40 Temple lead.
> Pierre-Louis then scored six more points in a 12-2 run to lift Temple to a 54-42 advantage with 7:24 remaining.
> The Owls kept the margin around double figures until the two minute mark when T.J. Bickerstaff, who led Drexel with 16 points, converted a fast-break layup to cut the Dragons deficit to 63-57.
> Drexel would inch closer following a three-point play a minute later by Zach Walton, making it 65-60, before Moore's three-point play sealed the win for the Owls.

Next Up
>Temple hosts Morgan State this Saturday at the Liacouras Center (2 pm/ESPN3/1210 AM WPHT).