Temple University Athletics
Saturday, December 10
Philadelphia, PA
1:00 PM
Temple University
at
Penn
Photo by: Zamani Feelings
Outright Big 5 Title at Stake when Men’s Basketball Plays at Penn Saturday
12.8.22 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA – Temple heads into Saturday afternoon's game at Penn (1 pm/ESPN+/NBC Sports Philly/1210 AM WPHT) with a chance to claim its first outright Philadelphia Big 5 title since the 2009-10 season. The Owls (6-4, 3-0 Big 5) clinched a share of its record-tying 28th city-series title Tuesday with its home 70-60 win over Saint Joseph's. Penn (5-7, 0-3 Big 5), coming off a 70-59 loss at Villanova Wednesday, will be looking to end its Big 5 slate with a win at The Palestra.
Temple has posted a perfect 4-0 Big 5 record only four times in its history. Besides 2009-10, the other three seasons came in 1957-58, 1986-87 and 1987-88. The Owls' other two outright Big 5 titles came in 1992-93 and 1995-96, both with 2-0 records during a 10-year period where only two official city-series games were played. Prior to this season, the Owls have shared the Big 5 titles 21 times, the last being in 2012-13.
Temple coach Aaron McKie, a three-time First Team all-Big 5 selection, was a member of the 1992-93 team. As a player, McKie helped lead the Owls to Big 5 championship teams in all three seasons he played, sharing the title in 1991-92 and 1993-94. As a coach, he owns Temple's best Big 5 winning percentage .700 (7-3).
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Khalif Battle, the reigning Big 5 and AAC Player of the Week, has been red hot of late, averaging 24 points per game while shooting 21-44 (47.7%) from behind the arc during the last five games as a starter. He leads the American Athletic Conference in scoring (20.0 ppg) and has scored 20 points seven games including the last five. He leads the AAC in threes with 33 (3.3 pg), ranking 21st nationally, while shooting 38.4 percent.
> Damian Dunn ranks second on the team in scoring (15.7 ppg), assists (2. 6), field goal percentage (.456) and first in minutes per game (34.5). He tallied a career-high 38 points in the Owls' 89-87 overtime loss to Vanderbilt. That is the most points by a Temple player since 2004. He also leads the AAC (t-11th NCAA) in free throws made (49).
> Jamille Reynolds also averages double-figure points (10.9 ppg.) on the season while leading the Owls in rebounding (6.0 rpg.) and field goal percentage (.610). He has scored in double figures in six games with a career-high 21 against St. John's.
> Zach Hicks (9.3 ppg) and Hysier Miller (7.5 ppg., 4.6 apg/4th AAC) round out the starting five. Jahlil White (3.1 ppg), who started the first five games before being sidelined due to injury, is a defensive stopper off the bench.
> Nick Jourdain (4.3 ppg), who leads the team in blocks (13), had his best offensive game since the opener, scoring seven points off the bench against La Salle. He has made his last 12 of his last 15 field goals over the last five games and is shooting 60.7 percent (17-28 FG).
SCOUTING PENN
> Jordan Dingle leads the Quaker attack. The junior guard tops the Philadelphia Big 5 in scoring (23.5 ppg) and has scored 20 or more points in nine straight games, which is the most by a Penn player since Big 5 Hall of Famer Ernie Beck did it in the 1950s.
> Clark Slajchert, who has missed the last two games after suffering an injury against Saint Joseph's, is the only other Penn player averaging double figures (17.4 ppg)
> Max Martz (9.5 ppg) is the team's top three-point shooter (17-41, .415) while Nick Spinoso (6.3 ppg) leads the team in assists (47).
> Lucas Monroe (3.5 ppg) leads the team in rebounding (5.8 rpg) and blocks (7).
> Penn is a deep team with 10 players averaging 10 or more minutes per game.
SERIES HISTORY
> Temple and Penn are meeting for the 76th time, with the Owls holding a 51-24 lead in the all-time series.
> The Owls had won 11 straight meetings before the Quakers won consecutive games during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. That was the first time Penn won two straight in the series since the 2001-02, 2002-03 seasons.
> The teams did not meet during 2020-21 due to a Covid-shortened schedule before Temple posted an 81-72 win at the Liacouras Center on Dec. 4, 2021.
> The teams share a unique history as current La Salle head coach Fran Dunphy also served as the head coach of both programs. Dunphy was as an assistant at Penn ('88-89) before taking over as head coach (1989-2006). He then moved to Temple where he served 13 seasons ('06-19). The all-time winningest coach in Philadelphia Big 5 history, Dunphy led Temple to 10 postseason appearances, including eight trips to the NCAAs. He guided Penn to 10 Ivy League Championships, nine NCAA Tournaments.
LAST MEETING: @ TEMPLE 81, PENN 72 (Dec. 4, 2021)
> Damian Dunn and Jake Forrester both scored career highs to lead Temple to its fourth-straight win, an 81-72 victory over Penn.
> Playing for the first time without the American Athletic Conference's leading scorer, Khalif Battle (21.4 ppg), Dunn tallied 27 points, making 9-of-15 from the field (8-10 FTs) with Forrester adding 21 on 7-of-11 from the floor (7-8 FTs) to lift the team to victory.
> Starting in place of the injured Khalif Battle, Quincy Ademokoya drained his first two three-pointers to help Temple jump out to a 12-3 lead in the first four minutes.
> Dunn then scored eight of his 17 first half points to help increase the Owls lead to double-figures, 22-10, at the 11:54 mark.
> Temple would increase its margin to 15, 30-15, three minutes later on a Zach Hicks three.
> Penn quickly cut the margin to single digits on a 10-2 run capped by a Max Martz three-pointer.
> Dunn then scored five of the final nine points of the half to give the Owls a 39-27 lead at intermission.
> The Owls did not let up in the second half and used an 8-0 run to take their largest lead, 61-41, on a Dunn turnaround jumper with just under 12 minutes to play.
> Temple kept Penn at bay, holding a double-digit lead until six straight Quaker points cut the margin to 71-63 on a Michael Wang jumper with three minutes remaining.
> A three by Jordan Dingle (22 pts) at the 1:41 mark made it a seven-point deficit, 75-68, but the Owls would allow the visitors to get no closer.
> Temple made eight of its 10 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the win.
LAST GAME: @TEMPLE 70, SAINT JOSEPH'S 60 (Dec. 6, 2022)
> Khalif Battle scored a team-high 20 points and Zach Hicks recorded his first career double-double (10 pts, 10 rebs) as Temple earned a share of the Philadelphia Big 5 title for the first time since the 2012-13 season with a 70-60 victory over Saint Joseph's Tuesday at the Liacouras Center.
> Hysier Miller added 10 points while Damian Dunn added six points and a game and career-high tying six assists.
> Cameron Brown topped all scorers with 25 points (7-8 FG, 5-6 3PT) and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Saint Joseph's.
> Leading 29-26 at intermission, the Owls opened a nine-point lead (42-33) courtesy of a 13-6 run to open the half. Dunn, who was scoreless in the first 20 minutes, drained two threes in the stretch.
> Temple would hold the Hawks at arms' length for the first 10 minutes, and finally extended the margin to double figures on a Nick Jourdan putback with 9:38 remaining.
> SJU's Erik Reynolds II then scored seven of the next 10 points to cut the lead to 56-48 with just under eight to play.
> Temple would then go on another 13-6, taking a commanding 68-54 lead on a Hicks dunk with 2:22 to play.
> SJU was unable to get closer than the final score the rest of the way.
BIG 5 TALK
> Temple clinched a share of its 28th Big 5 title, tying Villanova for the all-time lead, improving to 3-0 after a win over Saint Joseph's on Dec. 6. A win over Penn would give the Owls their seventh outright title and first since the 2009-10 season.
> Temple now has 22 shared Big 5 titles and six outright championships.
> Temple ranks second in city-series play with 147 Big 5 wins.
> Hall of Fame coach John Chaney won 15 titles at Temple, the most by any Big 5 coach.
> Temple coach Aaron McKie, who owns a 7-3 Big 5 record as a head coach, was a three-time First Team all-Big 5 selection as well as the 1993 Big 5 Most Valuable Player.
> Temple assistant to the head coach Mark Macon was the 1991 Big 5 MVP and is the all-time leading scorer in Big 5 games (347 points).
Temple has posted a perfect 4-0 Big 5 record only four times in its history. Besides 2009-10, the other three seasons came in 1957-58, 1986-87 and 1987-88. The Owls' other two outright Big 5 titles came in 1992-93 and 1995-96, both with 2-0 records during a 10-year period where only two official city-series games were played. Prior to this season, the Owls have shared the Big 5 titles 21 times, the last being in 2012-13.
Temple coach Aaron McKie, a three-time First Team all-Big 5 selection, was a member of the 1992-93 team. As a player, McKie helped lead the Owls to Big 5 championship teams in all three seasons he played, sharing the title in 1991-92 and 1993-94. As a coach, he owns Temple's best Big 5 winning percentage .700 (7-3).
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Khalif Battle, the reigning Big 5 and AAC Player of the Week, has been red hot of late, averaging 24 points per game while shooting 21-44 (47.7%) from behind the arc during the last five games as a starter. He leads the American Athletic Conference in scoring (20.0 ppg) and has scored 20 points seven games including the last five. He leads the AAC in threes with 33 (3.3 pg), ranking 21st nationally, while shooting 38.4 percent.
> Damian Dunn ranks second on the team in scoring (15.7 ppg), assists (2. 6), field goal percentage (.456) and first in minutes per game (34.5). He tallied a career-high 38 points in the Owls' 89-87 overtime loss to Vanderbilt. That is the most points by a Temple player since 2004. He also leads the AAC (t-11th NCAA) in free throws made (49).
> Jamille Reynolds also averages double-figure points (10.9 ppg.) on the season while leading the Owls in rebounding (6.0 rpg.) and field goal percentage (.610). He has scored in double figures in six games with a career-high 21 against St. John's.
> Zach Hicks (9.3 ppg) and Hysier Miller (7.5 ppg., 4.6 apg/4th AAC) round out the starting five. Jahlil White (3.1 ppg), who started the first five games before being sidelined due to injury, is a defensive stopper off the bench.
> Nick Jourdain (4.3 ppg), who leads the team in blocks (13), had his best offensive game since the opener, scoring seven points off the bench against La Salle. He has made his last 12 of his last 15 field goals over the last five games and is shooting 60.7 percent (17-28 FG).
SCOUTING PENN
> Jordan Dingle leads the Quaker attack. The junior guard tops the Philadelphia Big 5 in scoring (23.5 ppg) and has scored 20 or more points in nine straight games, which is the most by a Penn player since Big 5 Hall of Famer Ernie Beck did it in the 1950s.
> Clark Slajchert, who has missed the last two games after suffering an injury against Saint Joseph's, is the only other Penn player averaging double figures (17.4 ppg)
> Max Martz (9.5 ppg) is the team's top three-point shooter (17-41, .415) while Nick Spinoso (6.3 ppg) leads the team in assists (47).
> Lucas Monroe (3.5 ppg) leads the team in rebounding (5.8 rpg) and blocks (7).
> Penn is a deep team with 10 players averaging 10 or more minutes per game.
SERIES HISTORY
> Temple and Penn are meeting for the 76th time, with the Owls holding a 51-24 lead in the all-time series.
> The Owls had won 11 straight meetings before the Quakers won consecutive games during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. That was the first time Penn won two straight in the series since the 2001-02, 2002-03 seasons.
> The teams did not meet during 2020-21 due to a Covid-shortened schedule before Temple posted an 81-72 win at the Liacouras Center on Dec. 4, 2021.
> The teams share a unique history as current La Salle head coach Fran Dunphy also served as the head coach of both programs. Dunphy was as an assistant at Penn ('88-89) before taking over as head coach (1989-2006). He then moved to Temple where he served 13 seasons ('06-19). The all-time winningest coach in Philadelphia Big 5 history, Dunphy led Temple to 10 postseason appearances, including eight trips to the NCAAs. He guided Penn to 10 Ivy League Championships, nine NCAA Tournaments.
LAST MEETING: @ TEMPLE 81, PENN 72 (Dec. 4, 2021)
> Damian Dunn and Jake Forrester both scored career highs to lead Temple to its fourth-straight win, an 81-72 victory over Penn.
> Playing for the first time without the American Athletic Conference's leading scorer, Khalif Battle (21.4 ppg), Dunn tallied 27 points, making 9-of-15 from the field (8-10 FTs) with Forrester adding 21 on 7-of-11 from the floor (7-8 FTs) to lift the team to victory.
> Starting in place of the injured Khalif Battle, Quincy Ademokoya drained his first two three-pointers to help Temple jump out to a 12-3 lead in the first four minutes.
> Dunn then scored eight of his 17 first half points to help increase the Owls lead to double-figures, 22-10, at the 11:54 mark.
> Temple would increase its margin to 15, 30-15, three minutes later on a Zach Hicks three.
> Penn quickly cut the margin to single digits on a 10-2 run capped by a Max Martz three-pointer.
> Dunn then scored five of the final nine points of the half to give the Owls a 39-27 lead at intermission.
> The Owls did not let up in the second half and used an 8-0 run to take their largest lead, 61-41, on a Dunn turnaround jumper with just under 12 minutes to play.
> Temple kept Penn at bay, holding a double-digit lead until six straight Quaker points cut the margin to 71-63 on a Michael Wang jumper with three minutes remaining.
> A three by Jordan Dingle (22 pts) at the 1:41 mark made it a seven-point deficit, 75-68, but the Owls would allow the visitors to get no closer.
> Temple made eight of its 10 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the win.
LAST GAME: @TEMPLE 70, SAINT JOSEPH'S 60 (Dec. 6, 2022)
> Khalif Battle scored a team-high 20 points and Zach Hicks recorded his first career double-double (10 pts, 10 rebs) as Temple earned a share of the Philadelphia Big 5 title for the first time since the 2012-13 season with a 70-60 victory over Saint Joseph's Tuesday at the Liacouras Center.
> Hysier Miller added 10 points while Damian Dunn added six points and a game and career-high tying six assists.
> Cameron Brown topped all scorers with 25 points (7-8 FG, 5-6 3PT) and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Saint Joseph's.
> Leading 29-26 at intermission, the Owls opened a nine-point lead (42-33) courtesy of a 13-6 run to open the half. Dunn, who was scoreless in the first 20 minutes, drained two threes in the stretch.
> Temple would hold the Hawks at arms' length for the first 10 minutes, and finally extended the margin to double figures on a Nick Jourdan putback with 9:38 remaining.
> SJU's Erik Reynolds II then scored seven of the next 10 points to cut the lead to 56-48 with just under eight to play.
> Temple would then go on another 13-6, taking a commanding 68-54 lead on a Hicks dunk with 2:22 to play.
> SJU was unable to get closer than the final score the rest of the way.
BIG 5 TALK
> Temple clinched a share of its 28th Big 5 title, tying Villanova for the all-time lead, improving to 3-0 after a win over Saint Joseph's on Dec. 6. A win over Penn would give the Owls their seventh outright title and first since the 2009-10 season.
> Temple now has 22 shared Big 5 titles and six outright championships.
> Temple ranks second in city-series play with 147 Big 5 wins.
> Hall of Fame coach John Chaney won 15 titles at Temple, the most by any Big 5 coach.
> Temple coach Aaron McKie, who owns a 7-3 Big 5 record as a head coach, was a three-time First Team all-Big 5 selection as well as the 1993 Big 5 Most Valuable Player.
> Temple assistant to the head coach Mark Macon was the 1991 Big 5 MVP and is the all-time leading scorer in Big 5 games (347 points).
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