Temple snaps 10-game losing streak with 83-77 win over UTSA

For 40 days, Adam Fisher has sat on the sidelines and pounded the scorer’s table in frustration, watching Temple struggle to close out game after game. The Owls racked up a 10-game losing streak - the program’s longest in 47 seasons - and could not get over the hump in more than a month.

Sunday afternoon, Fisher arose from his seat on the Temple bench and pounded the scorer’s table once again.

This time, he smiled and let out a celebratory roar for his players.

“It’s hard,” Fisher said. “Forty-something days to keep coming to work. When you’re going through what we were going through, keep bringing the same energy, to keep believing in what you’re doing. It’s easy to question it. It’s easy to point fingers. It’s easy to branch off. This group sticks together.”

Temple snapped the 10-game losing streak in its 83-77 win over UTSA at the Liacouras Center to lift its record to 9-17 overall and 2-11 in the American Athletic Conference. When the final buzzer sounded, the fans heard the Temple fight song for the first time since a Jan. 7 win over Wichita State.

The Owls did a good job of getting open looks throughout the first half, even though they couldn’t convert. Temple shot 37.5% from the field in the first half and trailed by seven, 41-34, at halftime after allowing UTSA (8-18, 2-11) to close out the first period on a 10-0 run. After a Hysier Miller three-pointer gave the Owls a 34-31 lead, they went scoreless for the last 3 minutes, 14 seconds of the half.

Fisher scolded the Owls in the locker room at the break, and they responded. Temple converted on its open looks out of the locker room, shooting 53% in the second half. The Owls made 13 of their final 18 shots of the game, which was crucial in halting a Roadrunners comeback.

“To be honest, I usually give them time. I went right in,” Fisher said of his message at the half. “I was just disappointed. Five to seven offensive rebounds in the last five minutes and a 10-0 run. I was disappointed in that.”

Coming out of a timeout with less than a minute remaining in the game, forward Steve Settle III hit a crucial three-pointer from the corner that gave Temple a seven-point lead and effectively put the game away. Settle finished with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting and added seven rebounds.

“We were trying to let the clock run a little bit,” Settle said of his three. “Matteo [Picarelli] draws a lot of attention, so they went to him, and I just knocked down the shot.”

Guard play

In a game where Temple’s frontcourt struggled against 7-foot UTSA center Carlton Linguard Jr. and 6-10 forward Trey Edmonds (the pair combined for 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots), the Owls’ backcourt came to play.

Temple’s guards, with the exception of Quante Berry due to an injury he sustained in the first half, put together quality minutes throughout the afternoon.

“(UTSA’s) bench was outscoring and out-rebounding us,” Fisher said. “Our guys stepped up, and that’s what a team is.”

When the Owls needed a play, whether offensively or defensively, it was a guard who made it, specifically in the second half.

Shane Dezonie scored all seven of his points in the second half, hitting big shots to help the Owls claw back from their halftime deficit.

“He was awesome,” Fisher said. “He makes winning plays and they showed up today.”

Temple eventually put itself in the driver's seat. With four minutes remaining in the game, Jordan Riley converted an and-one layup opportunity that extended Temple’s lead to eight.

Miller led the charge with 20 points, his seventh 20-point game of the season, but Riley (12) and Jahlil White (15) also contributed in the scoring column. On the other end, Zion Stanford looked improved defensively, and less like the player he was earlier in the season.

Putbacks

The Owls put together an efficient offensive performance that resulted in 83 points. It’s Temple’s first 80-point performance in a non-overtime game since its season-opening 85-55 victory against Maryland Eastern Shore on Nov. 06. …Temple turned the ball over just six times in the win over UTSA, which is the lowest number of turnovers the Owls have had in a game since their 66-64 win at Drexel on Nov. 14. … Jordan Ivy-Curry, who played his first two seasons at UTSA, transferred to Pacific to play there last season and then came back to UTSA prior to this season, scored a game-high 22 points in 32 minutes off the bench for UTSA. His altercation with Miller near the end of the first half sparked Roadrunners point guard Christian Tucker to leave the bench and help Ivy-Curry off the floor. Miller was whistled for a technical foul on the play, and Tucker was ejected after a replay review. That limited UTSA's second-leading scorer, who's third in the AAC with 5.2 assists per game, to just 10 minutes Sunday, something that definitely benefitted Temple in the second half.

Watch the postgame press conference with Adam Fisher, Hysier Miller and Steve Settle III following Sunday’s win here.