Temple University Athletics

Tuesday, December 7
Nashville, Tenn.
8:00 PM

Temple University

6-3,0-0AAC

72
at
68

Vanderbilt

5-3,0-0SEC

1
2
OT 1
F
Temple
28
30
14
72
Vanderbilt
25
33
10
68
Tai Strickland
Photo by: Nick Hessler

Men’s Basketball Wins Thrilling Overtime Battle at Vanderbilt

12.7.21 | Men's Basketball

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tai Strickland returned to action and scored a career-high 21 points, while Damian Dunn added 18 and a huge three in overtime to lead Temple to its fifth straight win, a 72-68 road victory over Vanderbilt Tuesday evening at Memorial Gymnasium. The Owls improve to 6-3 while the Commodores fall to 5-3.

Recapping the Game

First Half
> Dunn had an up and down start to the game, making a four-point play to lift the Owls to an early 6-3 lead, but then picked up two fouls 12 seconds apart and exited the game at the 16:48 mark.
> Neither team could get on track offensively early on with the two teams combining for 5-for-24 shooting over the first eight-plus minutes.
> After shooting 2-of-16 over the first 11 minutes, Vandy ran off four straight baskets to open a 21-12 lead and force a Temple timeout with 7:36 on the clock.
> Strickland then ignited a 17-2 Temple run with his three-pointer as the Owls would take a 28-23 lead with 1:23 remaining.   
> Trey Thomas cut the margin to 28-25 with a basket to end the scoring for the half.
> Both teams struggled from the field with Temple shooting 32 percent and Vanderbilt hitting just 27.6 percent of its shots.

Second Half
> The Owls started the second half right where they left off, scoring nine of the first 11 points to take the game's first double-digit lead, 37-27.
> Both teams again went into a drought for the next four-plus minutes before Jahlil White made two free throws to extend the Owls' lead to 39-27 with just under 12 to play.
> Vandy then ran off five straight to cut the margin to seven, 39-32 with 9:37 left.
> Following a Strickland jumper to put the Owls ahead 45-36, the Commodores ran off five straight points, closing to within four, 45-41.
> Dunn then drained a corner three and Strickland made two free throws to push the Temple lead to 50-41.
> Strickland made five of six free throws to keep Vandy at bay, but the Commodores never went away.
> Following a loose ball after a missed free throw, Jamarie Mann gave the Commodores the ball down three with 2.7 seconds to play and Scottie Pippen, Jr, drained a corner three with 0.5 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

Overtime
> Jordan Wright (16 pts, 11 rebs) started things off for Vandy in the extra frame with a three-point play and then added a jumper in the lane to give the Commodores a 63-58 lead.
> Dunn and Strickland then made back-to-back baskets to cut the deficit to a point,
> Following a Pippen basket, the Owls reeled off five straight points, all coming at the line with two Strickland free throws giving Temple a 67-65 advantage.
> Mann made one of two free to make it 67-66, but Dunn answered with a three-pointer to give the Owls a two-possession lead (70-66).
> Mann made a basket to cut it to 70-68, but Williams iced the contest with two free throws with 12 seconds to play.

Statistically Speaking
> Strickland returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games due to a thigh injury.
> Nick Jourdain had a team-leading four blocks, one shy of tying his career-high.
> Temple has won its last eight overtime games, with Aaron McKie going 3-0 in extra minutes.

Next Up
  • Temple makes the short trip across town to Hagan Arena to take on Saint Joseph's on Saturday (1 pm/ESPN+/1210 AM WPHT).
 
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