Battle Leads Temple Past Rutgers in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase

Friday, November 18

Uncasville, CT

5:00 P.M.

Temple University

2-2,0-0AAC

Rutgers

3-1,0-0Big Ten

Temple

Rutgers

Photo by: Position Sports

Battle Leads Temple Past Rutgers in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase

11.18.22 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Khalif Battle led all scorers with 24 points as Temple evened its record (2-2) by defeating Rutgers, 72-66, Friday in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Battle, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player, made eight-of-17 from the field, and drained three-of-10 from long range to spark the win. Jamille Reynolds tied his career-high with 17 points while pulling down a team-high nine rebounds.

Hysier Miller posted his first career double-double, scoring 12 points and dishing a career-high 10 assists while Zach Hicks made three triples while scoring 10. Damian Dunn, who entered play as the nation's leading scorer, was mired in foul trouble and held to seven points.

Clifford Omoruyi led three Rutgers (3-1) double-figure scorers with 21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

First Half
> Temple scored the first five points and jumped out to a 13-6 lead after the first four minutes. Zach Hicks drained two threes and Damian Dunn had one in the opening stretch.
> The Owls extended their lead to eight, 18-10, on a three-pointer by Khalif Battle. It was the first of 10 straight points by the Temple redshirt sophomore as Owls extended their lead to 25-12 by the eight-minute mark.
> After Rutgers cut the lead to 28-16, Battle drained another three while Jamille Reynolds sent home a putback off his own miss to push the margin to 17, 33-16 with just under four minutes on the clock.
> Hicks' third three of the half pushed the margin to 19 (36-17) before the Scarlet Knights closed the half on a 6-2 run to cut the Temple lead to 38-23.

Second Half
> Temple kept Rutgers at bay with Jamille Reynolds scoring eight of the Owls first 10 points as the teams played even for the first eight minutes.
> Rutgers then used a 13-3 run to cut the deficit six (51-45) on a jumper by Aundre Hyatt with 6:01 to play.
> Temple then went on a 5-1 run with Miller draining a three and Battle a long two to push the margin back to double figures, 56-46, with 5:26 to play.
> The Owls then kept the Scarlet Knights at arm's length with Battle scoring seven straight points over a one-minute stretch to push the margin to a dozen, 67-55, with 1:38 to play.
> After Dunn made two free throws to make it 69-59 with 52 seconds left, Rutgers went on a 7-1 run to cut the Owls lead to four, 70-66, with 13 seconds left.
> Miller then iced the win with two free throws.

Game Notes
> Dunn, who entered the game as the nation's leading scorer, was held to a season-low seven points.
> Temple and Rutgers have played a total of 53 times with the Owls leading the all-time series, 34-19. This was the first meeting between the schools since the 2013-14 season as members of the American Athletic Conference.
> The Owls defense held the Scarlet Knights to 23-60 shooting (38.3%) and 1-16 (6.3%) from three.
> Temple was 17-20 from the foul line and is shooting 75-94 (.798) for the season.

Next Up
> Temple opens play in the Empire Classic against St. John's at the Barclays Center. The game is the nightcap of a doubleheader with Richmond taking on Syracuse (7 pm). The game, which is schedule to tip-off at 9:30 pm, will be televised on ESPNU and broadcast on 1210 AM WPHT.