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Published Nov 23, 2024
Jamal Mashburn Jr. scores 2,000th career point in Owls' win over UMass
Colin Schofield
OwlScoop.com Staff Reporter

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Temple has only faced UMass three times since the Owls departed the Atlantic 10 in 2012, with the last meeting in 2018.

Saturday’s game at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off at Mohegan Sun Arena didn’t have the feel of the 1990s battles between Hall of Fame coaches John Chaney and John Calipari, but that’s the level of excitement Temple head coach Adam Fisher wants to return to the program.

And in his second season with the Owls, Fisher has his own star in guard Jamal Mashburn Jr., whose game-high 26 points led the Owls to an 87-80 win over the Minutemen that snapped their two-game losing streak.

While it remains to be seen if Mashburn will reach the level of former Temple greats like Eddie Jones and Aaron McKie, he certainly is playing like a future pro and building an impressive resume that reached a milestone Saturday night when he surpassed the 2,000-career-point mark.

Mashburn entered the game having scored 20 or more points in all five of Temple’s games. He needed 20 against UMass (1-4) to reach 2,000 career points, and he nearly did it in the first half when he scored 16 en route to helping the Owls build a 43-36 lead at halftime.

Midway through the second half, Mashburn made a pair of free throws to give him 21 points and became the eighth active Division I player with 2,000 points.

“It feels good,” Mashburn said on reaching the milestone. “It feels even better getting in the win. I didn't know I even got to that mark, my teammates had to tell me. I'm just really locked on getting a win so it feels even better with a win.”

Mashburn also became the first Temple guard in five seasons to score 20 or more points in six consecutive games.

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Mashburn had some help. Four other Owls reached double-figure scoring, as forward Steve Settle and point guard Quante Berry contributed 12 points apiece, and sophomore wing Zion Stanford had eight of his 11 points in the second half. Jameel Brown chipped in 10 points off the bench, and 6-foot-8 freshman forward Babatunde Durodola’s game-high 12 rebounds were particularly important on a night when Temple was initially outrebounded in the first half before winning the battle on the glass, 42-35.

The Owls came out of the gate against Florida State Friday night in their first Hall of Fame Tip-Off game and jumped out to an early lead before fading in a 78-69 loss. Twenty-four hours later, Temple had a similar start against UMass, jumping out to a 7-2 lead, but the Minutemen were quick to respond.

The two teams battled until the under-12 media timeout before the Owls began to pull away, using a 12-1 run to open up a 32-17 lead. The Owls were shooting a scorching 61% from the field at that point and getting any shot they desired.

From there, the Minutemen flipped the game script on Temple.

UMass started to chip away at the lead thanks to some undisciplined Temple defense. The Minutemen shot 24 first-half free throws and made 18 of them. The barrage of free throws allowed UMass to trim the Owls lead down to 35-34 with just two minutes left in the first half.

“[UMass] did a really nice job of driving the basketball,” Fisher said. “We put them at the foul line a lot in the first half. They were just putting their head down and getting points at the line. We had to do a much better job of that in the second half, moving our feet not reaching.”

Temple managed to collect itself and punched back at UMass to end the half. Mashburn hit a three-pointer to slow the Minutemen's run. On the next offensive possession, Brown hit a three as the shot clock expired to electrify the Temple contingent that made the trip.

Brown played a critical role off the bench against FSU, leading the Owls in steals and rebounds. He had the same impact against UMass with his 10 points on 3 of 5 shooting. Brown left the game early in the second half with an injury, but Fisher said the Penn State transfer is “fine.”

The Owls have struggled on the glass all season and the story stayed the same against UMass. Temple was outrebounded 25-20, gave up 10 offensive rebounds and 10 second-chance points in the first 20 minutes of play. It was a big reason why the Owls led by just seven at the break after leading by as many as 15 earlier in the half.

Temple opened the second half with another hot start. The Owls hit four straight field goals to push their lead back to 10 at 53-43. Guard Shane Dezonie, who started in place of Stanford, contributed five quick points to open the half.

From there the Owls continued to hold the Minutemen at arm’s length.

Like the first half, Temple was getting to its spots and hitting shots with ease. Mashburn’s free throws that pushed him past the 2,000-career-point mark extended Temple’s lead to 60-48. Dezonie stole the ensuing inbound pass and dunked the ball to push the Owls’ lead up to 14.

The rebounding issues got better for the Owls, as Temple outrebounded UMass 22-10 in the second half. The Owls grabbed nine offensive rebounds and turned those into 12 second-chance points, a big component in re-extending their lead.

Durodola played an important role in turning the Owls’ rebounding fortunes around. After barely playing against Florida State due to foul trouble, his career-high 12 boards, including five on the offensive glass, were a big lift.

“We always ask our team, and we just talked about it in the locker room – how do you affect winning? What can you do?” Fisher said. “He had 12 rebounds in 18 minutes, which was huge. That's incredible.”

The Owls held at least a six-point lead for the final 10 minutes of the game to close out the Minutemen. UMass refused to go down quietly and kept the game close enough to warrant fouling near the end. Stanford hit multiple midrange jumpers down the stretch to keep Temple at a comfortable lead.

UMass leading scorer Rahsool Diggins, who starred at Archbishop Wood High School just outside Philadelphia, came in averaging 16 points per game. Temple’s defense held him to just two points on 1 of 8 shooting from the field.

Temple has a week before it returns to action on Nov. 30 when it will take on La Salle at the Explorers’ newly-renovated John Glaser Arena. That game will be ripe with storylines. The 5-2 Explorers are of course led by former Temple head coach Fran Dunphy. And Jahlil White, who left Temple via the transfer portal in the offseason, is currently La Salle’s second-leading scorer, averaging 12.5 points through the Explorers’ first seven games.

And the winner of the game will punch its ticket to face St. Joe’s in the Dec. 7 Big Five Classic championship game at the Wells Fargo Center.

Saturday was a time for Mashburn to celebrate his milestone and for Fisher to appreciate a win over UMass head coach Frank Martin, who reached the 2017 Final Four during his 10-year tenure at South Carolina.

“I have the absolute utmost respect for Coach Martin and his program,” Fisher said. “I've watched him for a long time and tried to install some of the stuff he does here. But again, really proud of these guys. I thought we really stepped up.”

Watch Saturday night’s postagame press conference with Adam Fisher, Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Shane Dezonie, along with UMass head coach Frank Martin, here.

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Front page photo by Jack Larson

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