Men's Basketball Battles ECU to Overtime

Sunday, January 28

Greenville, N.C.

5:00 P.M.

Temple University

8-13,1-7AAC

East Carolina

11-10,4-4AAC

OT 1

Temple

East Carolina

Photo by: Kenny Dango

Men's Basketball Battles ECU to Overtime

1.28.24 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Three players scored in double figures for the Temple University men's basketball team, but a late surge in regulation by East Carolina saw the Pirates slip by the Owls 70-64 in overtime on Sunday night.

BY THE NUMBERS

Jordan Riley led Temple with 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. It was the third 20+ point effort of the season for the Brentwood, N.Y. native.
Shane Dezonie scored 12 and pulled in a career-best with nine boards.
Hysier Miller scored 16.
Quante Berry helped off the bench with a couple of big first half threes.
The Owls held the Pirates to 31.7 percent from the field for the game, a season-best defensive mark.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Riley fueled the offense early on for Temple, scoring the first six points for the Owls. On the other side, East Carolina used the free throw line to its advantage during the first eight minutes, connecting on 6-of-8 at the charity stripe, building a 16-6 lead.

TU responded by turning up the heat on the defensive end and getting some contributions off the bench as Berry scored six and Emmanuel Okpomo posted three during a 12-2 run that tied the game at 18-18 with 6:23 left in the half. After a quick five-point burst by ECU, Temple came back and cut the Pirates lead to 27-26 at intermission. Overall for the half, the Owls held East Carolina to 34.6 percent (9-for-26) shooting from the field.

The second half began in much the same manner as the opening period, as ECU netted the first six points of the stanza. Once again, TU countered, posting the next eight points, capped by a thunderous dunk by Riley as Temple grabbed a 34-33 edge five minutes into the half.

With the score tied at 45-45, Temple forged ahead as free throws by Matteo Picarelli and Miller were followed by a three-pointer from Riley and a steal and score by Dezonie pushed TU up 54-47, forcing an East Carolina timeout with 4:40 remaining.

The Pirates did not go quietly, tying the score with 11 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws. In the extra session, ECU scored the first five points and did not relinquish the lead.

UP NEXT
With no midweek game, Temple is next in action on Sunday, February 4 at Tulane. Tipoff from Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans is set for 4:00 p.m. EST. The game will be aired on ESPNU.