Temple Owls Basketball: The Bench Paces the Owls to Victory
By Chuck Booth
The Temple Owls entered today’s game against ECU looking to stop a three-game slide. They did just that in an impressive 81 – 62 win over the Pirates.
The game got off to a tepid start as both teams looked to find their rhythm. The Temple Owls [10-7 , 1-3 AAC] had the upper hand early but due to missed shots and some questionable ball handling by Daniel Dingle, the Owls were unable to take advantage of a poor shooting percentage early by East Carolina University [9-8, 1-3 AAC].
The Owls looked good to start the game but the shots just weren’t falling leaving ECU in the game much longer than they should’ve been. But Fran Dunphy switched things up early to give the Owls a spark.
He introduced Quinton Rose and Mark Williams for Obi Enechionyia and Ernest Aflakpui which immediately upped the tempo for the Owls with Rose going on an eight-point run by himself. Rose hit a three, grabbed, a steal, went coast to coast for a three-point play, and capped it off with another drive. That series defined how the half would go from there on with the Temple Owls taking control.
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When asked about his 8-0 run, Rose responded by saying, “We were down two and it put us up six. It was just me taking what the defense gave me. I got out in transition and ran the floor”
Even the much maligned Obi Enechionyia would get in on the fun when he returned from the bench immediately hitting a three and following that up with a two. ECU would battle back going on a 5-1 run to end the half but the first belonged to Temple. To the tune of six steals against three turnovers, the Owls were able to ride a balanced attack to a 40-34 lead at the half over ECU. It’s tough
It’s tough to pick out a star performer from the half but my vote would go to Daniel Dingle. The guard was able to grab eight points, four rebounds, two assists, and three steals as he was a pest to the pirates. Place that impact against the fact that he only had one turnover (a nice improvement from his past few games) and that’s quite the half for the senior.
The second half got underway much as the first ended with ECU looking to close the gap and the Owls doing just enough to keep some breathing room between them. Again the tides in the half changed once Quinton Rose entered the game to key a 10-2 run for the Owls putting them up 62-48 with a little over 10 minutes left in the game.
After the run, Shizz Alston took over point guard duties with Alani Moore sitting due to ineffectiveness. ECU attempted to fight back again but the Temple bench again took charge with Rose and Mark Williams scoring timely baskets for the Owls. Led by their bench and the defense, the Temple Owls were able to get an important victory.
On the offense, coach Dunphy said,
"“I thought our offense was pretty good today. Guys stepped up and made some big baskets. I was happy for Mark Williams and the help that he gave us today. Willams and Dingle were very efficient on offense so our guys were good at sharing the ball today and it showed in the shooting percentage that we had.”"
Five players scored double digits for the Owls and the balanced attack kept ECU off guard all day. The Pirates came into the game expecting that if they could stop Obi and Dingle, that they would likely be able to come away with a win in this one but they didn’t anticipate the additional scoring by Mark Williams and Quinton Rose. Ernest Aflakpui also notched a career high with 13 points and Daniel Dingle was the game high scorer with 19.
Next up for the Owls is a matchup at UCONN on January 11th. The Owls will look to continue thier efficent play and grab a key confrence win in that one. After that, the Owls will return home to face Tulsa next Saturday.