Men's Basketball Drops Double-Overtime Decision at USF

Thursday, February 6

Tampa, Fla.

7:00 P.M.

Temple University

14-9,6-4AAC

100

South Florida

12-11,5-5AAC

OT 1

OT 2

Temple

South Fla.

100

Men's Basketball Drops Double-Overtime Decision at USF

2.6.25 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. - The Temple University men's basketball team fought back from a second-half deficit to force overtime for a second straight game but could not pull out a 100-91 decision at South Florida on Thursday evening. The Owls, playing without the American Athletic Conference's leading scorer Jamal Mashburn Jr., were led by sophomore Zion Stanford who tallied 23 points and senior Steve Settle III who finished with 21.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Owls got off to a slow start and trailed 16-8 following a dunk by Kobe Knox at the 15:35 mark.
Temple responded with a run of its own, tying the score at 21-21 on a three-point play from Zion Stanford.
Consecutive three-pointers from senior Steve Settle III gave the Owls a 31-28 lead, and the visitors' cushion built to five moments later.
USF regained the lead prior to intermission and held a 44-39 advantage after the first 20 minutes of action.
Settle III had a team-high 12 points to lead the Owls, who shot just 37.5 percent from the floor but did go 11-for-15 from the free-throw line.
The home team bolstered its lead to as many as nine points on four separate occasions, but Temple continued to battle.
A 7-0 spurt that spanned 1:47 cut a then-eight-point deficit to just one at 72-71 as Stanford's three from the top the key capping the run.
Down by four with less than two minutes left in regulation, a bucket by Elijah Gray and a game-tying dunk by Aiden Tobiason with under a minute to go helped force overtime.
The Owls had a chance to win in regulation but an attempt near the buzzer was blocked by USF.
In the first overtime, South Florida scored the first five points and led 86-81 with less than three minutes to go.
But Temple once again clawed its way back, and tied the game on a drive from Settle III with just over a minute to go.
After a stop at the defensive end, the Owls had a pair of opportunities to take the lead with less than 10 seconds left but missed both as the game went to another overtime period.
USF controlled the second extra session from the start, scoring the first seven points and forcing a Temple timeout. The Owls could not get closer than four the rest of the way, as the Bulls took the hard-fought victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The third-straight overtime game for the Owls marked the first time in program history they have played in back-to-back-to-back contests that went past regulation.
Temple also scored 90-plus points for the third straight game, the first time a Temple team has accomplished that feat. On the year, the team has a program-record seven 90+ point games.
Stanford's 23 were two off a career high set earlier this season against Holy Family, while the 21 for Settle III were four shy of his career best set against Notre Dame in 2022.
Settle III also added 10 rebounds to notch his fourth double-double this season.
Gray closed with 17 points and Tobiason finished with 14 for the Owls.
Former Temple player Jamille Reynolds had 25 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots to lead the Bulls.

UP NEXT

Temple (14-9, 6-4 AAC) continues its road trip on Sunday, February 9 with a matchup against #17 Memphis.
Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, with the game airing live on ESPN2.