Men’s Basketball Comes Up Short at Wichita State, 70-67

Sunday, February 7

Wichita, KS

3:00 P.M.

Temple University

4-7,3-7AAC

Wichita State

11-4,7-2AAC

Temple

Wichita St.

Photo by: Jhalen Wingate

Men’s Basketball Comes Up Short at Wichita State, 70-67

2.7.21 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WICHITA, Kan. – Damian Dunn scored a career-high 22 points, but Temple fell just short to Wichita State in the final seconds, 70-67, in a tightly-contested Sunday afternoon game at the Koch Center. The Owls fall to 4-7, 3-7 in AAC play while Wichita State improves to 11-4, 8-2 AAC.

Tyson Etienne scored 16 of his team-high 20 points in the second half to lead four double-figure scorers for Wichita State. Trey Wade added 12 while Morris Udeze and Dexter Dennis chipped in with 11 and 10, respectively.

Besides Dunn, who also matched his career-high with seven rebounds, Jake Forrester and Jeremiah Willams added 11 points each.

Recapping the Game
First Half
> Temple started slowly against an aggressive Wichita State man-to-man defense, falling behind 7-2 after the first four minutes.
> The Shockers extended the lead to 13-4, following threes by Etienne and Wade, before the Owls ran off nine straight points to tie the contest at the 12-minute mark on two free throws by Dunn.
> The lead then went back and forth over the remainder of the half with six lead changes.
> Neither team gained a two-possession advantage until Wade drained a three with 40 seconds remaining to give WSU a 28-24 lead.
> J.P. Moorman II made a layup before the half to cut the deficit to 28-26 at the break.
> Temple shot just 27 percent from the field in the half, but pulled down nine offensive rebounds for eight second chance points in the period.

Second Half
> The second half picked up right where the first ended with the lead switching hands eight times over the first 11 minutes and neither team being able to gain a two-possession separation.
> Wichita State broke the stretch on back-to-back threes by Ricky Council IV and Etienne to take a 51-46 lead with 8:38 remaining.
> The Shockers extended their lead to seven, 53-46, before the Owls closed the game back to one-possession with baskets by Dunn and Williams at the 6:06 mark.
> Wichita State answered with five straight, the last on another Etienne three, to extend its lead to eight, 58-50.
> Temple then ran off seven straight, first with a Brendan Barry basket in the lane. Dunn followed with a conventional three-point play with a Khalif Battle driving layup finishing the run.
> Dennis then drained a three to put the Shockers ahead, 61-59, but Williams answered with a layup off a feed from Moorman, cutting it 61-59.
> Following an empty WSU possession, Williams banked home a three-pointer to give Temple its first lead, 62-61, since the 9:30 mark.
> The teams traded free throws before Etienne converted a three-point play to put WSU ahead 66-64.
> Moorman was then called for an offensive foul with the Owls fouling Alterique Gilbert, who made both free throws to give WSU a 68-64 advantage.
> Dunn then drove and was fouled, converting a three-point play to cut it to 68-67.
> Etienne was then fouled and made both to make it a 70-67 lead, but Battle's three at the buzzer to tie the game missed the mark.

Statistically Speaking
> Freshman Nick Jourdain scored a season-high five points.
> Dunn made a career-high 12-of-12 free throws.
> Wichita State made 9-of-21 from long-range with Etienne draining four-of-eight. The Owls only hit three from distance on 19 attempts.

Next Game
> Temple returns home for a Thursday noon game against East Carolina (ESPN+/1210 WPHT).