Temple puts on offensive display in 76-67 win over Tulsa

Temple looked as good offensively as it has all season.

The Owls staved off a late-game surge from Tulsa but ultimately secured a 76-67 home victory Tuesday afternoon at the Liacouras Center, securing their fourth win and their highest-scoring total of the 2020-2021 campaign.

For Temple (4-4, 3-4 American Athletic Conference), it was a win over a Tulsa program that has been a thorn in its side. Although the Owls have now won three of the last four games against the Golden Hurricane at the Liacouras Center, Tulsa held an all-time series lead of 10-3 heading into Tuesday's matchup and swept Temple last season.

Temple's largest lead of the afternoon got as high as 22 points in the closing minutes of the first frame, but Tulsa made things interesting, cutting that deficit to just seven late in the game.

Head coach Aaron McKie, with a sigh of relief, said postgame that he thought his team’s offensive performance was “better.”

“Nowhere near, as I’ve said before, where I think we can be,” McKie added. “We have days in practice where we do a good job of moving the ball and getting pretty good shots. I think we’re still forcing the issue a little bit. I think we can draw two guys and kick it and the next guy can kick it and we can get better quality shots. We’re getting better at that, the guys just have to see the floor and we have to balance the floor a lot better.”

Multiple players got involved at that end of the floor, but the scoring column was headlined by Khalif Battle, who finished the day with a career-high 22 points and 11 rebounds. He became just the second Temple player in the last decade to tally 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds off the bench. Damion Moore was the last to do it in 2017 against South Carolina.

Tuesday afternoon was just Battle’s third game of the season. The sophomore transfer from Butler missed Temple’s first five games due to a hamstring injury suffered in practice before the start of the season. But it was only a matter of time before he found his rhythm.

Battle credited his scoring outburst to how much time he spends watching film in McKie’s office.

“Coach told me, we talked about this in film after the last game, he said that my first shot I was kind of settling too much,” Battle said. “He wants me to get downhill and score, look for my open teammates, try to draw two and just to see the floor.”

Jake Forrester, Damian Dunn and De’Vondre Perry each got involved, too, tallying double-digit scoring totals that helped create a balanced scoring attack, which has been a key ingredient for Temple’s success thus far. On top of that, the Owls cut down on their live-ball turnovers, something McKie has harped on being a hitch in their productivity.

Of McKie’s nine-man rotation, eight guys were able to find the bottom of the net.

“I thought we had a good flow going,” McKie said. “I think we’re at our best when we’re moving the defense side-to-side. Let’s not bail the defense out by just getting the ball up the floor and taking a quick shot on one side of the floor. Then we’re not in position to grab offensive rebounds.”

Temple closed out the game absent two starters with Forrester and Dunn both fouling out.

“Next guy’s just got to be ready," Perry said. "Everybody just has to be ready when your number is called and your name is called. We were missing a ball-handler with [Dunn] and an inside presence with [Forrester] but when your name gets called you just have to be ready.”

Rey Idowu did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Golden Hurricane. With Forrester spending considerable time on the bench in foul trouble, Idowu took advantage of the size advantage opposite Temple’s small-ball lineup.

Tulsa’s junior big man poured in a team-high 20 points while grabbing four rebounds. Senior guard Elijah Joiner was right behind him with 15 points, 12 of which came in the second half.

Team defense continued to be a difference-maker for Temple. Being able to flash different looks on screens and knowing when and where to rotate as a unit held Tulsa in check.

Garnering an early lead was the difference, despite the Golden Hurricane crawling back and chipping away at their deficit. Still, a Temple team that’s inexperienced in late-game scenarios was able to close out the win, improving to 4-4 on the season and 3-4 in conference play.

The Owls won’t be going anywhere for their next matchup, hosting Tulane on Sunday at noon on ESPN+.

Front page photo courtesy of Zamani Feelings.