ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- In coming away with a 77-75 overtime win over Davidson at Boardwalk Hall on Saturday, Temple added an impressive victory that will likely stand out on its resume in March.
The Owls improved to 9-2 overall and will have six days to prepare for coach Fran Dunphy’s final game at The Palestra against Drexel next Saturday.
Temple overcame a seven-point disadvantage halfway through overtime, capped off by consecutive three-pointers by junior swingman Quinton Rose and senior guard Shizz Alston, who was awarded the game’s MVP honors.
Davidson had the final offensive possession with 22 seconds remaining in overtime, but Rose came up with one of his biggest plays in two-and-a-half years in a Temple uniform. The Albany, N.Y. product jumped the passing lane, stole the ball with five seconds remaining and finished a dunk to give the Owls a two-point lead.
“I saw the play coming,” Rose said of his late-game interception. “He was trying to slip the ball screen into a three and I just read the play. He threw it right to me, being in the right spot.”
Sophomore forward J.P. Moorman contributed dunks on back-to-back possessions, including a drive-by from the three-point line. He also knocked down a key corner 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining in regulation to tie it up at 61-61.
Moorman finished with 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting, along with seven rebounds and three assists, in a 27-minute run off the bench.
“He was terrific today,” coach Fran Dunphy said.
Temple forced Davidson to commit 18 turnovers, which the Owls converted to 31 points. The Wildcats came into the day with an average of just over 11 turnovers per game.
“It’s not what they do,” Dunphy said. “They don’t turn it very much. I’m still flabbergasted by how many turnovers we’ve drawn.”
Before Temple took the floor for its 4:30 p.m. tip, Dunphy told his players to treat this matchup like a first-round NCAA Tournament game, Alston said. Davidson, which dropped to 8-2 overall, was picked to finish third in the Atlantic 10 and received six first-place votes in the preseason media poll.
The Wildcats entered the game ranked No. 39 in RPI, according to TeamRankings.com. Davidson was Temple's first RPI Top 50 win of the season after dropping games to VCU (No. 25) and Villanova (No. 30).
“We needed this win,” Alston said. “Davidson is a great team. They’re projected to be at the top of the A-10.”
When asked if Saturday felt like an NCAA Tournament game, Dunphy replied, “Yeah, it did.”
“Even the arena – I love this place,” Dunphy said. “It has been so good to us, but it has a great feel to it, a great vibe to it. We’ve been relatively successful when we’ve been here.”
The Owls played their first game at Boardwalk Hall since 2012, the last year Atlantic City was the host for the A-10 tournament. Dunphy’s crew won three straight league championships at the historic venue in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
“I’m going to be on the Chamber of Commerce of Atlantic City at this point,” Dunphy said.