Temple notches 65-57 road win at Tulane
Aaron McKie’s team picked up its second conference win of the season, and first away from home, in a 65-57 win over Tulane Saturday afternoon.
Temple (3-3, 2-3 American Athletic Conference) left the door cracked open for Tulane to jump right back and make things competitive, but the Green Wave never quite made the leap.
These two programs were originally scheduled to face off Jan. 6 but were subject to postponement after Temple went on pause due to a positive test in its Tier 1 personnel. The Owls were set to play at ECU Saturday, but COVID-related issues within the Pirates program canceled that matchup, so Temple replaced ECU with Tulane.
Adding to the drama, Tulane head coach Ron Hunter announced Friday that he had been exposed to COVID-19 and would be unavailable to coach. Assistant coach Claude Pardue stepped up in his absence.
These are the challenges of playing college basketball during a pandemic.
Temple opened the game on a 15-4 run, knocking down its first five shots, but cooled off at that end of the floor. Stagnant movement and an inability to attack the interior with purpose against Tulane’s 2-3 zone defense allowed the Green Wave to crawl back.
It was a two-point game at the half and a single-digit-lead affair for much of the contest.
The Owls were able to maintain control and ultimately close out the victory thanks to improved team defense by knowing rotations, switching with ease on screens and staying aggressive on the ball.
“I thought the guys did a pretty good job [on defense],” Temple head coach Aaron McKie said postgame. “In the first half, [Tulane] started making shots, but I thought the shots they were making were contested, tough shots.”
The Green Wave’s offensive prowess this season has been centered around their leading scorer, Jaylen Forbes. Saturday afternoon was no different. He poured in a team-high 14 points, including three 3-pointers.
McKie said postgame that limiting his production and forcing him to make tough shots were a big part of their game plan.
Aside from Forbes, Tulane’s offense couldn’t garner any sort of rhythm. The Green Wave kept finding themselves in scoring droughts, most notably being held the first 10 minutes of the second frame without a field goal.
Junior forward Jake Forrester was a bright spot for Temple offensively. The Westtown School product notched his second career double-double with 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the win. He said exploiting Tulane’s four guards and one big lineup helped him dominate in the interior, and that was a big part of their game plan, especially in the second half.
“In the 2-3 zone they had, it was just there for opportunities for me to get the ball inside and try to get to the free-throw line,” Forrester said. “It really opened things up. If I get it, they all crash down, then I can kick it back out. It just opened up different options for us.”
Redshirt freshman guard Damian Dunn was Temple’s other leading scorer with 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field. He also hauled in seven boards and tallied two assists.
Dunn said the most important factor for his success has been to stay the course and remain focused. He added that despite his shots not falling, he was able to make an impact getting into passing lanes and helping get stops. It wasn’t until the second half that he made a dent in the scoring column.
Following the first media timeout, Butler transfer Khalif Battle checked in for the first time after missing Temple’s previous five games while nursing a hamstring injury.
Battle may not have had the debut he hoped for, shooting 0-for-4 from the field and missing both his 3-point attempts, but he impacted the game in other ways, playing solid defense and staying active on the glass. He finished with six rebounds.
With the addition of Battle, McKie opted for a small-ball lineup early on consisting of Dunn, Jeremiah Williams, Brendan Barry, Battle and J.P. Moorman II. The potential of that lineup has been something Temple’s coaching staff was eager for.
“[Battle] is another offensive threat, which gives us more spacing,” McKie said. “It’s just going to take some time to get comfortable out there playing with those guys.”
Temple’s next opportunity to gel playing with each other will come next Wednesday hosting Cincinnati, which has struggled in conference play as of late.
Front page photo courtesy of Zamani Feelings.