Temple University Athletics
Thursday, March 7
Storrs, Conn.
7:00 p.m.
Temple University
78
at
71
UConn
Photo by: Stephen Slade
Alston's Career-High 34 Points Lead Men's Basketball Past UConn, 78-71
3.7.19 | Men's Basketball
STORRS, Conn. - With an incredible shooting effort all night long, Shizz Alston, Jr. scored a career-high 34 points to lead Temple to its 10th win away from home this season, a 78-71 decision at UConn (14-16, 5-12) that clinched a first-round bye for the Owls (22-8, 12-5) at next week's American Athletic Conference Championships.
Temple can now finish no lower than the No. 4 seed in the regular season AAC standings, and will play its first game in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament on Friday, March 15.
Game Summary
> The Owls led for the entire first half after a 9-0 start, with three 10-point leads and a five-point, 35-30 halftime lead.
> It was a different story in the second half with seven ties and six lead changes, and the Huskies at one point leading by as many as six.
> After the final tie at 60-60 with 5:37 remaining, the Owls used an 8-2 run to take the lead for good.
> The Huskies twice came within three points in the final 40 seconds, but Alston and De'Vondre Perry combined to go 8-of-8 at the free throw line to seal the victory.
Individual Highlights
> Alston hit an impressive 12 of 14 field goals including 4-of-5 from long range, and made all six of his free throw attempts. He has now scored 30 or more points three times this season.
> For the eighth time this year, Quinton Rose hit the 20-point mark, scoring exactly 20 points and leading the Owls with eight rebounds.
> Nate Pierre-Louis scored 13 points and grabbed seven boards, while J.P. Moorman II dished a game-best five assists and tied his career high in leading all players with four steals.
First Half
> Rose scored five points in a 9-0 start for the Owls as the Huskies missed their first seven shots and went on to make just one of their first 11.
> Temple's first double-digit lead of 15-5 came on a Damion Moore jumper at 13:39, and the Owls still led by 10 twice more, the second time at 24-14 with 7:45 remaining.
> Christian Vital (26 points) hit four of his first five three-point attempts (7-of-11 overall) and helped UConn go on a 10-1 run that got the Huskies within a point, 25-24 just past the five-minute mark.
> Alston broke the run with his third trey of the period and went on to score seven of the Owls' final 10 points of the half. His final driving layup at 34 seconds put Temple ahead 35-30 and the Owls took that lead into halftime.
> While Temple's field-goal shooting cooled slightly after a hot start and UConn's improved, the Owls still out-shot the Huskies 48 percent to 34 percent in the half.
Second Half
> The Huskies tied the game for the first time just over three minutes into the period at 39-39, and six more ties followed in between a number of lead changes.
> Free-throw shooting proved disastrous for the Huskies, who made just 8-of-18 from the line in the second half and at one point missed four in a row while holding a two-point lead.
> Alston scored seven straight points for the Owls in a stretch that saw Vital hit his sixth and seventh three-pointers for UConn.
> The Huskies' largest lead was six points, 53-47 at 11:20 on Vital's seventh and final trey of the game.
> Rose and Alston combined for a 9-0 run that put Temple back in the lead, and three more ties followed before the Owls took the lead for good.
> UConn's free-throw misses combined with the Owls' 13-of-14 performance at the line in the second half were enough to hold off UConn over the final stretch.
Up Next
> Temple will host UCF at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 9 (ESPN2 / 1210 WPHT). The Owls will celebrate their two seniors - Alston and Ernest Aflakpui - as well as honor head coach Fran Dunphy in his final home game.
Temple can now finish no lower than the No. 4 seed in the regular season AAC standings, and will play its first game in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament on Friday, March 15.
Game Summary
> The Owls led for the entire first half after a 9-0 start, with three 10-point leads and a five-point, 35-30 halftime lead.
> It was a different story in the second half with seven ties and six lead changes, and the Huskies at one point leading by as many as six.
> After the final tie at 60-60 with 5:37 remaining, the Owls used an 8-2 run to take the lead for good.
> The Huskies twice came within three points in the final 40 seconds, but Alston and De'Vondre Perry combined to go 8-of-8 at the free throw line to seal the victory.
Individual Highlights
> Alston hit an impressive 12 of 14 field goals including 4-of-5 from long range, and made all six of his free throw attempts. He has now scored 30 or more points three times this season.
> For the eighth time this year, Quinton Rose hit the 20-point mark, scoring exactly 20 points and leading the Owls with eight rebounds.
> Nate Pierre-Louis scored 13 points and grabbed seven boards, while J.P. Moorman II dished a game-best five assists and tied his career high in leading all players with four steals.
First Half
> Rose scored five points in a 9-0 start for the Owls as the Huskies missed their first seven shots and went on to make just one of their first 11.
> Temple's first double-digit lead of 15-5 came on a Damion Moore jumper at 13:39, and the Owls still led by 10 twice more, the second time at 24-14 with 7:45 remaining.
> Christian Vital (26 points) hit four of his first five three-point attempts (7-of-11 overall) and helped UConn go on a 10-1 run that got the Huskies within a point, 25-24 just past the five-minute mark.
> Alston broke the run with his third trey of the period and went on to score seven of the Owls' final 10 points of the half. His final driving layup at 34 seconds put Temple ahead 35-30 and the Owls took that lead into halftime.
> While Temple's field-goal shooting cooled slightly after a hot start and UConn's improved, the Owls still out-shot the Huskies 48 percent to 34 percent in the half.
Second Half
> The Huskies tied the game for the first time just over three minutes into the period at 39-39, and six more ties followed in between a number of lead changes.
> Free-throw shooting proved disastrous for the Huskies, who made just 8-of-18 from the line in the second half and at one point missed four in a row while holding a two-point lead.
> Alston scored seven straight points for the Owls in a stretch that saw Vital hit his sixth and seventh three-pointers for UConn.
> The Huskies' largest lead was six points, 53-47 at 11:20 on Vital's seventh and final trey of the game.
> Rose and Alston combined for a 9-0 run that put Temple back in the lead, and three more ties followed before the Owls took the lead for good.
> UConn's free-throw misses combined with the Owls' 13-of-14 performance at the line in the second half were enough to hold off UConn over the final stretch.
Up Next
> Temple will host UCF at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 9 (ESPN2 / 1210 WPHT). The Owls will celebrate their two seniors - Alston and Ernest Aflakpui - as well as honor head coach Fran Dunphy in his final home game.
Players Mentioned
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