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Slow second half start proves costly in Temple's loss at SMU

Temple didn’t get off to the start in the second half that head coach Aaron McKie would’ve liked for his team during the Owls' 79-68 loss to SMU Monday at the Moody Coliseum.

And it doomed Temple down the stretch.

SMU started to heat up, making 11-of-27 shots in the final 20 minutes of play, shooting 40.7% from the field, while also hitting on 7-of-16 from beyond the arc. Temple couldn’t keep up, as multiple players dealt with cramps down the stretch of the game.

The Owls cut the SMU lead to four points, but after experiencing a scoring drought of nearly two-and-a-half minutes midway through the second half, the team was never able to recover.

While Temple limited Kendric Davis in its last matchup against SMU, he was able to do what he wanted at will this time. The 5-foot-11 junior guard was more aggressive in the Mustangs’ 11-point victory, certainly looking to score more than he did on Dec. 30.

“I think the challenge with him is that he has the ball in his hands and any offensive possession that they have, he’s going to touch the ball,” McKie said following Monday's loss. “He’s got it in his hands 80% of the time of their possessions. We tried to limit him as much as possible, but he’s an all-league player...For most guys like him, that’s ball-dominant, for the most part on nights, they’re gonna have good games.”

In the last meeting between these two teams, Davis was limited to 13 points, most of which came late in the second half. He reached that mark early in the second frame thanks to the Mustangs’ ability to get the ball in the interior with relative ease. That opened up the floor for the American Athletic Conference’s leading scorer to create for himself.

Davis finished the game with 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field. He led all scorers, while Feron Hunt, Emmanuel Bandoumel and Ethan Chargois added 46 points combined, all in double figures. Bandoumel and Chargois caught fire from deep, shooting a combined 7-of-11 from 3-point range.

After getting off to a slow start, Temple was able to go for punch-for-punch with SMU in the first half.

Playing their first game back in 12 days, the Owls headed into the break down 37-34 after J.P. Moorman made a deep buzzer-beater from beyond the arc.

The Owls' hot shooting streak ended with Moorman’s shot and Temple was unable to create the same momentum that was boosted from their 3-point shooting in the first half.

Much of that momentum can be attributed to Dartmouth grad transfer Brendan Barry, who put home each of his first five attempts from beyond the arc. SMU made him a priority defensively in the second half, forcing other guys to create scoring opportunities for the Owls.

Barry finished the night with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. Temple’s second-half swoon was due to the team’s shooting or lack thereof. The Owls couldn’t knock down open looks, going 0-of-9 from deep, while making just 12-of-20 from the stripe.

When asked how he could assess progress after back-to-back losses, McKie paused. The second-year head coach let out a sigh and attributed his team’s troubles to defensive breakdowns. Temple missed assignments on the defensive end and it cost the Owls. They allowed SMU to get off some 3-point shot attempts that McKie believed they shouldn’t have got, he said.

McKie didn’t point fingers for Temple’s defensive lapses, but he did mention Quincy Ademekoya’s defensive awareness, which he said is something he’s always been concerned with the freshman’s game.

“I think he’s gonna be a really, really good defensive player. He’s got good length and athleticism,” McKie said. “But when you don’t have much practice time, you didn’t have a summer to really teach these guys, especially our freshmen, our young guys. It’s hard for them because you learn from playing defense in high school one way to go into college and being a part of a defensive scheme in college and it could be completely different, which it is for most of our guys.

“I think he’ll be fine over time. The more we can get him minutes and he can get more comfortable out there, he’ll have a better understanding. I think experience is the key and he played against experienced guys who’ve been around. Offensively he’s a guy that is very capable of making 3-point shots, just leave him open. I’m very comfortable at looking at the ball and thinking it’s going in with him. We got to try to find him some good quality looks, but it was just good to see him out there and get some experience under his belt.”

Ademekoya finished Wednesday’s contest with a career-high 24 minutes, knocking down 2-of-6 shots from the field while going 1-of-4 from beyond the arc. He finished the game with five points and two assists.

While stopping short of making excuses, McKie was insistent that it could probably be attributed to Temple’s lack of team practices.

SMU wasn’t as disruptive on the defensive end, but it comes down to Temple making open shots and converting on opportunities that were for the taking. Instead, the Owls became stagnant on the offensive end, settling for some misguided shots. By the time the team finally started to drive inside, it was too little too late.

McKie felt his team didn’t attack the paint enough with both Isiah Jacey and Yor Anei in foul trouble for much of the afternoon. Both big men eventually fouled out late in the second half.

Damian Dunn was one of the few Owls who took advantage of SMU’s vulnerability in the paint, but he didn’t do so until the second half. The redshirt freshman guard scored 17 points, most of them coming from the free-throw line, where he shot 9-of-11. He endured struggles of his own though, shooting 4-of -17 from the field, while adding two turnovers and four personal fouls, in addition to his five assists.

Dunn acknowledged that Owls settled for shots. But by the time they made adjustments, SMU had a lead it didn’t let go of.

Temple will be back in action Thursday against UCF at the Liacouras Center.

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