Temple University Athletics
Wednesday, January 18
Philadelphia, Pa.
7:00 P.M.
Temple University
vs
East Carolina
Photo by: Zamani Feelings
Men’s Basketball Hosts East Carolina Wednesday
1.16.23 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA – Temple Men's Basketball looks to bounce back from a heartbreaking buzzer-beating loss to Memphis when the Owls host East Carolina Wednesday at the Liacouras Center (7 pm/ESPN+/1210 AM WPHT).
The Owls (10-9. 4-2 AAC), playing without second leading scorer Damian Dunn (concussion protocol), opened their conference season with a 59-57 win over the Pirates (10-9, 1-5 AAC) in Greenville, N.C. on Dec. 28. Khalif Battle led the way in that game, scoring 16 of his game-high 18 points in the second half.
GAME PROMOTIONS/EVENTS
> National Anthem: Abington Middle School
> Theme: Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day
> Promotions/Special Groups: Dollar Dog Night
> Halftime: $10,000 Series Shootout
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Khalif Battle, who leads the team and ranks third in the American Athletic Conference in scoring (17.4 ppg), has scored 20 points in a team-best seven games. He also leads the AAC in threes with 55 (2.9 pg) and is tied for 21st nationally.
> Damian Dunn ranks second on the team in scoring (14.8 ppg), assists (2.6) and field goal percentage (.452). He tallied a career-high 38 points, the most points by an Owl since 2004, against Vanderbilt. He leads the Owls (tied 28th in NCAA) in free throws made (84) and three-point percentage (23-64, .359).
> Zach Hicks (9.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg) is second on the team in three-point shooting (44-124, .355) and Hysier Miller (8.3 ppg, 3.6 apg/9th AAC) are the only two Owls to start all 19 games.
> Jahlil White (5.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg), the team's top perimeter defender, is averaging 8.3 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 21-of-37 (.568) from the field in conference play.
> Nick Jourdain (6.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.3 bpg.), who is coming off his first double-double of the season (16 pts, 10 rebs) against Memphis, has been on fire from the field of late, shooting 39-73 (53.4%) from the field over the last 14 games.
> Kur Jongkuch (1.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg) has started eight games in place of injured big man Jamille Reynolds (11.1 ppg/6.3 rpg).
SCOUTING EAST CAROLINA
> East Carolina, under the direction of first year coach Michael Schwartz, has dropped four straight games and five of its last six, starting with its home loss to Temple.
> Sophomore guard Javon Small leads the Pirates in scoring (15.8 ppg) and ranks second in the conference in assists (5.6 apg).
> Sophomore forward Brandon Johnson is second on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) while leading the AAC in rebounding (8.9 rpg). RJ Felton (11.8 ppg) also average double figures.
> East Carolina is also coming off a 6-11 AAC season, tying for the most league wins since joined the AAC.
SERIES HISTORY
> Temple and ECU are meeting for the 14th time after beginning the all-time series in 2014-15. Temple leads the series, 9-4.
> The Owls swept the season series last year, winning 78-75, on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Damian Dunn at the Liacouras Center on Jan. 8 and 71-63 at ECU behind Dunn's game-high 26 points on Feb. 2.
> The teams did not compete in 2020-21 with both contests postponed due to covid protocol issues.
> In 2019-20 the teams each won on their home courts with the Pirates 67-63 victory in Greenville on Feb. 23, 2020 being the most recent game.
> Temple owns a 5-2 record against ECU at the Liacouras Center.
LAST MEETING: TEMPLE 59, @EAST CAROLINA 57 (Dec. 28, 2022)
> Khalif Battle came off the bench to score a game-high 18 points to lead Temple to a 59-57 win at East Carolina in the AAC opener for both teams. The Owls snap a three-game skid with the win and ended the Pirates three-game win streak.
> Battle scored 16 of his points in the second half with Jahlil White matching his season-high with 10 points and six rebounds.
> Temple was without its second leading scorer, Damian Dunn (concussion protocol).
> Temple played stifling defense, holding East Carolina to 27.1 percent from the field (16-59) and 23.8 percent from three (5-21). It was the first time this season the Owls held an opponent under 30 percent from the field.
> The Owls led for most of the game, but finally took control for good with a 9-1 run, with Battle accounting for six points, to take a 54-48 lead with 3:11 to play.
> The Pirates cut the lead to two with 48 seconds left on two free throws from Javon Small, but Zach Hicks made two from the line with 11 seconds to play and the Owls held on for the win.
> Brandon Johnson had 11 points and a game-high 18 rebounds to lead ECU. Jaden Walker also scored 11 while Ezra Ausar added 10.
The Owls (10-9. 4-2 AAC), playing without second leading scorer Damian Dunn (concussion protocol), opened their conference season with a 59-57 win over the Pirates (10-9, 1-5 AAC) in Greenville, N.C. on Dec. 28. Khalif Battle led the way in that game, scoring 16 of his game-high 18 points in the second half.
GAME PROMOTIONS/EVENTS
> National Anthem: Abington Middle School
> Theme: Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day
> Promotions/Special Groups: Dollar Dog Night
> Halftime: $10,000 Series Shootout
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Khalif Battle, who leads the team and ranks third in the American Athletic Conference in scoring (17.4 ppg), has scored 20 points in a team-best seven games. He also leads the AAC in threes with 55 (2.9 pg) and is tied for 21st nationally.
> Damian Dunn ranks second on the team in scoring (14.8 ppg), assists (2.6) and field goal percentage (.452). He tallied a career-high 38 points, the most points by an Owl since 2004, against Vanderbilt. He leads the Owls (tied 28th in NCAA) in free throws made (84) and three-point percentage (23-64, .359).
> Zach Hicks (9.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg) is second on the team in three-point shooting (44-124, .355) and Hysier Miller (8.3 ppg, 3.6 apg/9th AAC) are the only two Owls to start all 19 games.
> Jahlil White (5.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg), the team's top perimeter defender, is averaging 8.3 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 21-of-37 (.568) from the field in conference play.
> Nick Jourdain (6.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.3 bpg.), who is coming off his first double-double of the season (16 pts, 10 rebs) against Memphis, has been on fire from the field of late, shooting 39-73 (53.4%) from the field over the last 14 games.
> Kur Jongkuch (1.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg) has started eight games in place of injured big man Jamille Reynolds (11.1 ppg/6.3 rpg).
SCOUTING EAST CAROLINA
> East Carolina, under the direction of first year coach Michael Schwartz, has dropped four straight games and five of its last six, starting with its home loss to Temple.
> Sophomore guard Javon Small leads the Pirates in scoring (15.8 ppg) and ranks second in the conference in assists (5.6 apg).
> Sophomore forward Brandon Johnson is second on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) while leading the AAC in rebounding (8.9 rpg). RJ Felton (11.8 ppg) also average double figures.
> East Carolina is also coming off a 6-11 AAC season, tying for the most league wins since joined the AAC.
SERIES HISTORY
> Temple and ECU are meeting for the 14th time after beginning the all-time series in 2014-15. Temple leads the series, 9-4.
> The Owls swept the season series last year, winning 78-75, on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Damian Dunn at the Liacouras Center on Jan. 8 and 71-63 at ECU behind Dunn's game-high 26 points on Feb. 2.
> The teams did not compete in 2020-21 with both contests postponed due to covid protocol issues.
> In 2019-20 the teams each won on their home courts with the Pirates 67-63 victory in Greenville on Feb. 23, 2020 being the most recent game.
> Temple owns a 5-2 record against ECU at the Liacouras Center.
LAST MEETING: TEMPLE 59, @EAST CAROLINA 57 (Dec. 28, 2022)
> Khalif Battle came off the bench to score a game-high 18 points to lead Temple to a 59-57 win at East Carolina in the AAC opener for both teams. The Owls snap a three-game skid with the win and ended the Pirates three-game win streak.
> Battle scored 16 of his points in the second half with Jahlil White matching his season-high with 10 points and six rebounds.
> Temple was without its second leading scorer, Damian Dunn (concussion protocol).
> Temple played stifling defense, holding East Carolina to 27.1 percent from the field (16-59) and 23.8 percent from three (5-21). It was the first time this season the Owls held an opponent under 30 percent from the field.
> The Owls led for most of the game, but finally took control for good with a 9-1 run, with Battle accounting for six points, to take a 54-48 lead with 3:11 to play.
> The Pirates cut the lead to two with 48 seconds left on two free throws from Javon Small, but Zach Hicks made two from the line with 11 seconds to play and the Owls held on for the win.
> Brandon Johnson had 11 points and a game-high 18 rebounds to lead ECU. Jaden Walker also scored 11 while Ezra Ausar added 10.
Players Mentioned
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