Men's Basketball Completes Comeback; Improves to 10-0 at Home With OT Win Over East Carolina

Saturday, February 1

Philadelphia, Pa.

2:00 P.M.

Temple University

14-8,6-3AAC

East Carolina

12-10,4-5AAC

OT 1

East Carolina

Temple

Photo by: Paige Wisehaupt

Men's Basketball Completes Comeback; Improves to 10-0 at Home With OT Win Over East Carolina

2.1.25 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - The Temple University men's basketball team overcame a second-half, double-digit deficit and shot 58.2 percent from the field to earn its second straight overtime win, a 98-94 decision over East Carolina in American Athletic Conference action on Saturday at Liacouras Center.

Graduate student Jamal Mashburn Jr. registered his second consecutive 30-point game and finished with 32 points to lead the Owls, who improved to 10-0 at home this season and 14-8 (6-3 AAC) overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Pirates, who did not trail throughout regulation, took a 12-4 lead to put the Owls in a hole early.
Sophomore Quante Berry's three brought Temple to within three at 14-11 at the 12:19 mark, but ECU came back to take a 26-16 lead less than four minutes later.
East Carolina's C.J. Walker was a thorn in Temple's side through the first 20 minutes and throughout the game, scoring 14 points in the opening stanza that helped the visitors to a 33-26 lead at intermission.
The margin bumped back up to double figures on multiple occasions in the second half, including 50-40 with 14:38 remaining in regulation.
A three-point play from junior Elijah Gray and a jumper from sophomore Zion Stanford cut the Temple deficit in half in just 1:18 of game action.
Temple pulled to within one following Stanford's fast-break drive past the midway point of the half, but ECU continued to lead and bumped its cushion to 70-63 on a dunk from Jordan Riley.
The Owls continued to fight their way back and finally pulled even with just over a minute left on a three by senior Steve Settle III.
Both teams missed opportunities to take the lead at the end of regulation as the contest moved to overtime.
Settle III continued to percolate in the overtime period, connecting on another triple to open the scoring. Mashburn Jr. followed on the next possession with another trifecta, as the Owls built an 82-77 advantage.
With momentum on their side, the Owls led the entire overtime period and made 11 of 12 free throws over the final 1:33 to seal the win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Mashburn Jr. had an impressive outing, going 10-for-16 from the field and 10-for-13 from the free-throw line en route to his third 30-plus point outing of the season.
The 6-2 guard also finished with four assists against zero turnovers in 45 minutes of action.
As a team, the Owls shot 9-for-18 (50.0%) from three-point range, with Settle III going 4-for-7 from deep.
Five players reached double figures for Temple - and were the only five players to score in the game for the home team: Mashburn Jr., Berry (21), Stanford (19), Settle III (16), and Gray (10).
Walker closed with a game-high 33 points for the Pirates, before fouling out in overtime.
Temple recorded its second straight game of 90 or more points, marking the second time this season the team has done so. The Owls have never scored 90 or more points in three straight games in their history.

UP NEXT

Temple will hit the road for a pair of AAC matchups, beginning Thursday, February 6 at South Florida.
Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. The contest will air live nationally on ESPN2.