Temple falls flat in 78-73 loss to Columbia
Despite trailing Columbia for most of the second half, Temple somehow found itself down one possession with 12 seconds left on the clock Saturday afternoon at the Liacouras Center.
The Owls, who played most of the second half without Jahlil White due to a finger injury, had several scoreless runs, could not find any rhythm offensively, and allowed Columbia to extend possessions with some timely offensive rebounds.
And yet, there they were with 12 seconds on the clock, down just two points with a chance to tie the game or take the lead with a defensive stop or some missed free throws and a made shot at the other end.
But Jordan Riley and Quante Berry took five seconds to foul Columbia guard Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa out of the timeout. After his two free throws, Riley tried to inbound the ball to guard Hysier Miller but threw it out of bounds.
That gifted Columbia the ball and allowed the Lions to put the finishing touches on a 78-73 win that dealt Temple its first loss of the season.
You can watch Saturday's postgame press conference with Miller and Temple head coach Adam Fisher here.
The Owls looked off for most of the game. Although he scored a game- and career-high 29 points and played all 40 minutes, Miller couldn’t hide his frustration at times, pleading for the ball up the floor or throwing his arms down in frustration.
Head coach Adam Fisher nearly ran into the tunnel a few times hiding his disgust with some calls from the officials.
“We play with emotion whether it's good or bad,” Fisher said. “It starts with me. I need to keep cool out there.”
Columbia entered Saturday afternoon shooting 30% from three and not much better from the floor. The Lions’ only two wins this season came against two Division III schools, and they had lost handedly to Providence and in a close game to Albany.
Saturday, the Lions shot 46.2% from three, and the Owls couldn’t find answers no matter what they tried.
“We didn't defend like we normally do,” Fisher said. “We have some things to clean up. This one is going to hurt.”
Despite their poor numbers entering the game, the Lions seemingly could not miss, finishing the game with 49% shooting from the field. Only three Lions scored in double figures, led by Avery Brown’s 13 points, but nine scored at least one field goal.
The real story, though, was Columbia’s halfcourt offense. Of their 27 field goals, 19 shots came off assists.
“They move the ball really well,” Miller said. “They were selfless and quick getting the ball up and down the floor.”
The Owls found some life in the second half as Miller did what he could to take over. He had 16 points in the frame, bringing life to his team at times. Freshman Zion Stanford had an assist, a block and an and-one all in one second-half sequence that pushed Temple back into the game with about 12 minutes left.
The Owls host Ole Miss Wednesday in the first game of a doubleheader with the women’s team. That game tips off at 3:30 p.m.
Before then, here’s what went wrong for the Owls.
Couldn't buy a bucket
While the Lions were hitting their shots, the Owls struggled. Columbia went on several runs throughout the game, and the most important one stretched from two minutes to go in the first half until the first media timeout in the second. That 18-3 run gave Columbia a commanding nine-point lead, which put the Lions in the driver’s seat the rest of the way.
The Owls had five scoreless stretches of more than two minutes in the game, including three in the second half.
Missing close to the rim hurt Temple the most. The Owls shot 8 of 15 on layups and picked up just 18 points in the paint. On the other hand, Columbia went 12 of 18 on layups and scored 24 points in the paint.
The Owls shot 35.5% from the floor and 10-for-30 from three. They hit two field goals in the final two minutes of the game, missing four other opportunities.
Halfcourt defense
While their defense struggled all game, the Owls could not rebound toward the end of the game. Columbia had only eight offensive rebounds, but five came in the final six minutes of play.
The Owls look slow on the defensive end while Columbia found shooters all over the floor. When the Owls closed on the perimeter, the Lions found cutters or people open in the midrange. The Owls could not string together enough stops when they found momentum, which killed their chances at a comeback.
Rubio De La Rosa and Jaden Cooper scored 11 points apiece and shot a combined 5 of 9 from three-point range
Temple forward Steve Settle played just 17 minutes in a limited role, and his lack of time hurt Temple. Settle has been a strong presence on the interior so far this season, but he had been “nicked” in the previous game against Drexel Tuesday, Fisher said. He went scoreless, as did fellow forward Sam Hofman, who missed all three of his shots but contributed eight rebounds, including four on the offensive end.
White scored 11 points on 5 of 10 shooting and collected six rebounds before leaving in the second half with his finger injury, for which Fisher said he did not have an update after the game.
Putbacks
Columbia scored on almost half of its possessions, while Temple scored on just 40%. ... Temple guard Matteo Picarelli had 18 points on 4 of 8 shooting from three-point range and 6-for-6 from the foul line. … Columbia’s bench outscored Temple’s 30-15.
A look at the future
St. Elizabeth High School guard Aiden Tobiason, who along with Dillon Battie signed with Temple earlier this month, made the trip to the Liacouras Center for Saturday's game.
