It's Frantastic: Men's Basketball Beats #25 UCF on Senior Day, 67-62

Saturday, March 9

Philadelphia, Pa.

4:00 p.m.

Temple University

23-8, 13-5

UCF

23-7, 13-5

UCF

Temple

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

It's Frantastic: Men's Basketball Beats #25 UCF on Senior Day, 67-62

3.9.19 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Fran Dunphy Press Conference Shizz Alston Jr Post-UCF Press Conference Photo Gallery Quinton Rose and Ernest Aflakpui Post-UCF Press Conference

PHILADELPHIA - Seniors Shizz Alston, Jr. and Ernest Aflakpui, along with head coach Fran Dunphy, got the Liacouras Center send-off they were looking for as the Owls (23-8, 13-5) got the best of #25 UCF (23-7, 13-5) by a score of 67-62. It was an intense, back-and-forth battle that saw 10 ties and 11 lead changes before Temple got its second win over a ranked team this season.

Game Summary
> After a run by each team early in the game, it was a true battle the rest of the way. For over a 30-minute stretch, neither team led by more than four.
> UCF was a one-man show with Aubrey Dawkins scoring 36 points and grabbing 11 boards. His scoring effort ties for the sixth-most points all-time at the arena.
> The Owls held UCF's 7-6 center, Tacko Fall, to just two points and five rebounds, well below his season averages of 11.2 ppg and 7.3 rpg.
> After the 10th tie of the game with 5:30 remaining, the Owls took the lead on a Quinton Rose dunk and never trailed again.
> Temple went 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the final two minutes to hold off the Knights.
> The game marked the final home contest for Dunphy, the 13th-year coach of the Owls who will step down at the end of the season.

Individual Highlights
> Alston led four players who reached double figures in scoring. His 21-point effort marked his seventh straight game with 20 or more points. He also dished a team-best six assists on his Senior Day.
> Justyn Hamilton came off the bench for a career-high tying 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and came up with a crucial rebound and putback with three and a half minutes left.
> Rose finished with 11 points and J.P. Moorman II added 10 points and three steals. Moorman and Aflakpui led the Owls with five rebounds each.

First Half
> UCF jumped out to an 8-0 lead, but it did not prove to be indicative of how the half would progress.
> After the Owls' first bucket by Rose, Alston really got Temple going and scored seven straight points, the last two of which started a 12-0 run for the Owls.
> Moorman took over, posting eight straight points in the run which was capped by two Hamilton free throws that put Temple up 19-15 with 11 minutes to go.
> The game saw its first tie at 22-22, and the largest separation was three points for the rest of the half.
> There were eight total lead changes and three more ties down the stretch, with an impressive performance by Hamilton who scored seven straight points from 7:27 to 5:29.
> The Owls trailed 34-31 with three minutes to go, but got a pair of free throws by Aflakpui and a layup in the final minute by Nate Pierre-Louis to take a 35-34 halftime lead.
> Temple committed just three first-half turnovers compared to 11 by UCF, leading to a 12-5 edge in points off turnovers.

Second Half
> The back-and-forth play continued for most of the second half with five ties and four more lead changes.
> Rose broke a 52-52 tie with a dunk at 4:13, and Hamilton's rebound and putback followed at 3:24.
> Two free throws by Rose at 2:07 gave Temple its largest lead of six, 59-53.
> The Owls matched that lead at 62-56 before a Dawkins three-pointer for UCF.
> Moorman made two free throws before the Knights' B.J. Taylor hit 3-of-3 at their stripe, but Alston was solid with another pair back on the Owls' end to prevent UCF from tying the game.

Up Next
> Temple will play in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday, March 15 with time and opponent to be determined.