Owls Hold Off Wichita State for First Conference Win

Sunday, January 7

Philadelphia, Pa.

1:00 P.M.

Temple University

8-7,1-1AAC

Wichita State

8-7,0-2AAC

Wichita St.

Temple

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

Owls Hold Off Wichita State for First Conference Win

1.7.24 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – Steve Settle III scored 17 with nine rebounds and a career-high six steals as the Temple University men's basketball team earned its first conference win of the season with a 68-61 victory against Wichita State on Sunday afternoon.

BY THE NUMBERS

The six steals by Settle were the most in a game for a Temple player since Nate Pierre-Louis had six against VCU on November 19, 2018.
Hysier Miller matched Settle with 17 points in the game, delivering eight assists and five rebounds.
Jahlil White was also in double figures with 11. Matteo Picarelli tallied nine.
Sam Hofman added nine rebounds.
Temple held Wichita State to just 4-for-15 from three-point range. The four treys tie the fewest in a game against TU this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Wichita State scored the first four points of the game, but the Owls battled right back, tallying eight of the next 10 to take the lead. The advantage was short-lived as an 11-0 spurt for the Shockers gave WSU a 17-8 lead midway through the frame.
Methodically, Temple worked its way into the game once again as an 18-6 run over an eight-minute stretch was capped by a Miller trey put TU up 26-23. Not content to stop there, after a Wichita State basket, seven more in a row came for the Owls, extending the lead to eight with 1:55 remaining in the frame, before taking a 36-27 lead into the break.
Early in the second half, Temple extended the advantage to as much as 48-31 on a three that beat the shot clock by Miller three-and-a-half minutes into the stanza. The Shockers did not go away, pulling the lead down to 53-46 with just under 11 minutes left in the half. WSU would eventually come back to tie the game as the Owls went cold from the floor.
Showing their resilience, Temple battled back as a three by Hofman ignited a 9-2 closing run that sealed the win for the Owls. Appropriately enough, Settle closed the contest with a game-finishing steal.

UP NEXT
The Owls play their second straight game at home when they host the East Carolina Pirates on Wednesday, January 10. Tipoff from the Liacouras Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.