Owls Down Portland to Wrap Diamond Head Classic

Sunday, December 24

Honolulu, Hawai'i

1:30 p.m.

Temple University

7-6,0-0AAC

Portland

6-9,0-0WCC

Temple

Portland

Photo by: Texas Powers

Owls Down Portland to Wrap Diamond Head Classic

12.24.23 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

HONOLULU – Hysier Miller hit two free throws with 5.9 seconds remaining as the Temple University men's basketball team closed its run at the Diamond Head Classic with a 55-54 win against the Portland Pilots on Sunday morning.

BY THE NUMBERS

Steve Settle III scored 16 in the contest his fifth game this season in double figures. He also pulled in six rebounds.
Jordan Riley posted a career-high 12 rebounds, also scoring 14 for his first career double-double.
Sam Hofman scored 10 with six rebounds and three assists. Shane Dezonie tallied nine and also delivered three dimes.
It was the first time the Owls scored in the final 10 seconds of a game to win since January 8, 2022.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Neither team was able to find the bottom of the net early on as the teams combined to shoot 5-for-25 in the opening eight minutes. Temple began to find its shot first, using a 6-0 run that forced a Pilots timeout with 7:46 remaining in the first half.
After the Owls built the lead to 17-9, Portland came back with an 11-2 run of its own, taking a 20-19 edge before a steal by Dezonie led to a fastbreak dunk from Settle. The bucket led to Temple ending the half, scoring seven of the final 11 points, taking a lead into the break.
Settle continued his scoring touch into the second half, scoring five in a row to push Temple on top 34-30 at the 15:23 mark. The momentum turned in the next three minutes with the Pilots going on a 12-0 run that was snapped by a steal and score by Hysier Miller.
Trailing by six with less than five minutes remaining, TU continued to battle. An 8-0 run put Temple on top for the first time since the early moments of the stanza.

UP NEXT
After returning from Hawai'i, the Owls are off until January 4 when they travel to the Sunshine State to open American Athletic Conference play against South Florida. Tipoff from the Yuengling Center in Tampa is scheduled for 7:00 p.m