Damian Dunn returns to help Temple sweep Cincinnati

In its third-straight game without second-year freshman point guard Jeremiah Williams, Temple defeated Cincinnati 75-71 Sunday afternoon to complete a season sweep of the Bearcats.

In his return from an ankle injury that sidelined him for two games, redshirt freshman guard Damian Dunn had no problem getting acclimated to the offense. Dunn had 15 points on 4-for-12 shooting and 7 of 10 from the free-throw line, and true freshman Zach Hicks had a team-high 16 points to continue his stretch of good play.

“He’s playing well for us,” head coach Aaron McKie said of Hicks. “It’s unfair to him, I’m asking him to do a lot. Last year at this time, he was playing in the playoffs in New Jersey.”

Temple (15-9 overall, 8-5 in American Athletic Conference play) saw its lead grow as large as 18 points before Cincinnati (17-10, 7-7) got within single digits at 64-56 with a little less than six minutes to go on a bucket by Jeremiah Davenport, who scored a game-high 24 points. The Bearcats cut the Owls’ lead to five with 1:24 to go on a David DeJulius basket, but Hicks eventually put Temple ahead by eight at 74-66 on a pair of free throws with 10 seconds to go.

Cincinnati made things slightly interesting by scoring five points from there, but just a second remained when Mason Madsen hit a jumper to cut it to three. Strickland was fouled immediately after that basket and hit 1 of 2 from the line to ice the game.

True freshman guard Hysier Miller and fellow backcourt mate Strickland both started and scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, on a day when Temple placed five scorers in double figures. Jahlil White had 10 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes and battled through shoulder pain before fouling out.

First-half fire

It was a group effort from the Owls , as they put together their most efficient first half of the season. Temple shot 15-for-27 from the field, including 8-for-10 from three, and the Owls’ 47 first-half points were a season high.

The Owls also shot above their team average from the charity stripe, going 9-for-12.

Twelve of Hicks’ points came in the first half, as did 11 of Dunn’s on 4-for-6 shooting.

“Just getting to my spots,” Dunn said. “I think that’s what kinda helped.”

White and Miller each had eight points and shot a combined 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

With Williams out as he continues to rest a shoulder injury, the emphasis on team-wide ball movement was in effect. Led by Miller’s three, Temple assisted on seven of its 15 first-half field goals.

Temple started the game on a 17-6 run over the first eight minutes and change. Coming out of the under eight-minute media timeout, Cincinnati began to put offense together. The Bearcats were led by senior forward John Newmann III’s eight points. Behind him were Davenport and Ody Oguama, who each scored seven points. It cut the Bearcats’ deficit to 11 points, but the team went on a 3-minute drought to end the half, capped off by Hicks’ converted and-one three-pointer from the right wing.

Second-half struggles

That didn’t keep up for all 40 minutes though, as Temple had eight turnovers and no assists in the second half.

“That’s what we do,” McKie said. “We got a lead, then everybody starts to play me-ball.”

The second half got even worse for Cincinnati, as the Bearcats shot 12-for-35 from the field, including 4-for-19 from three and a 5:18 drought heading into the under-8:00 media timeout. Temple had also cooled down, shooting 7-for-25 and 1-for-9 from deep. Temple’s free throw shooting also returned to normal, going 13-for-22 from the stripe.

A big reason for Temple’s second-half struggles was due to Cincinnati’s extended pressure out of the break. The Bearcats began picking up Temple’s ball handlers at the halfcourt line.

“It was just a different look for us, seeing them transition to man,” Dunn said. “It’s another learning curve for us.”

However, as they’ve done for most of the season, the Owls relied on their defense to bail them out.

Denying DeJulius

Cincinnati’s DeJulius, just like the last game these two teams matched up in, struggled to get going. DeJulius shot 2-for-7 in the first half and finished 16 points on 6-for 16 shooting. Davenport stepped up with his 24 points on 8-for-14 shooting, but Cincinnati struggled miserably without its leading catalyst. The Bearcats shot a dismal 34.3 percent as a team, including 25% from three.

“Our guys made DeJulius work,” McKie said, describing DeJulius and Davenport as “all of” Temple’s defensive game plan entering the game.

Close call

Things got tight for the Owls down the stretch, as both White and redshirt sophomore center Arashma Parks fouled out. Strickland also found himself in foul trouble with four fouls. Strickland eventually left the game briefly with a calf injury before coming back in to hit the last foul shot.

“It’s why you have 13 guys on the roster,” McKie said. “We just have to play the guys that’s available.”

Despite a late 5:56 stretch without a field goal, Temple held on and made enough late-game free throws to win in Cincinnati for the first time in six seasons.

“It just shows our grit and our toughness,” Dunn said. “It travels with us every away trip.”

Temple’s next game is at Memphis Thursday night with a 7 p.m. tipoff from the FedEx Forum. The Tigers lost 73-57 Sunday at SMU.

Front page photo: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports