Men's Basketball Tops South Florida, 68-64, in Third Straight Conference Win

Wednesday, January 4

Tampa, Fla.

7:00 P.M.

Temple University

9-7,3-0AAC

South Florida

7-8,0-2AAC

Temple

South Fla.

Photo by: Paige Wisehaupt

Men's Basketball Tops South Florida, 68-64, in Third Straight Conference Win

1.4.23 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. – Damian Dunn led four Temple double figure scorers with 19 points as the Owls matched their best start in American Athletic Conference play with a 68-64 win over South Florida at the Yuengling Center Wednesday night. The Owls extended their win streak to three games in improving to 9-7 overall and 3-0 in conference play. The Bulls fall to 7-8, 0-2 in league play.

Khalif Battle tallied 15 points with Hysier Miller (13) and Jahlil White (10) rounding out the double figure scorers. Nick Jourdain added nine as Temple almost had its third game with five double figure scorers this season.

South Florida big man Russel Tchiwa led all scorers with 20 points while also pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds.

First Half
> It was a very slow start for both teams with neither team making a field goal in the first four minutes. The Owls turned the ball over on their first four possessions but led at the first media timeout courtesy of two free throws by Dunn, 2-1.
> The cold shooting continued for the Bulls as they missed their first nine field goal attempts before Selton Miguel made a driving layup at the 13:23 mark. On the other end, the Owls committed too many miscues to take advantage, turning the ball over seven times in first eight minutes.
> The Bulls started to find their rhythm offensively, making seven of nine shots and going on an 8-2 run to take a 15-13 lead with 9:14 to play.
> The Owls would tighten up defensively, forcing five turnovers while running off six straight points to retake the lead, 23-19, with just under three minutes on the clock.
> After two Tchewa free throws cut it to 23-21, Miller would score five points in a 7-3 run to close out the half with a 30-24 advantage.

Second Half
> South Florida used a 7-0 run to retake the lead, 38-35, in the first six minutes of the second half. Tchewa scored the final four points and capped it with a dunk.
> The teams traded baskets until the Owls ran off six straight to take a 48-44 lead on two Dunn free throws at the 10-minute mark.
> The Bulls answered with six straight points, four by Tchewa and a dunk by Keyshawn Bryant (10 pts) to take back the lead, 53-51.
> Baskets by Dunn and Jourdain put the Owls back on top, 55-53, but then the teams traded baskets until the Owls were able to take a 64-60 advantage with just under two minutes to play on six straight points, with four from Miller at the line.
> A Miguel driving layup cut the lead to a basket, 64-62, but then both teams' defenses held strong.
> With the Bulls looking for a tying basket in the final 30 seconds, Miller and Dunn blocked Miguel in the paint. Dunn grabbed the rebound and was fouled, converting both free throws to extend the lead.
> Following an offensive foul on Bryant, Miller was fouled and converted both. Tyler Hicks made a layup for the final points of the game.

Statistically Speaking
> The Owls shot a blistering 23-of-26 from the free throw line (88.5%) while the Bulls made only 11-of-19 from the charity stripe (57.9%).
> Zach Hicks had a rare scoreless game (0-4 FG), but tied White for team rebound honors with seven.

Next Up
> Temple returns home to the Liacouras Center to take on Tulane Saturday (2 pm/ESPN+/1210 AM WPHT).