For the first time in Temple University’s 119 year history of having a basketball program, the men’s team has lost 20 games in one season.
Temple (7-20) faced #7 American Athletic Conference rival Lousville (24-4) for the second time this season at the KCF Yum! Center Thursday. The Owls suffered a horrific 88-66 loss, making their 2013-2014 season the Owls’ worst one in history.
Russ Smith of the Cardinals led the team with 24 points. Forward Montrezl Harrel shot 21 baskets and blocked 2 throws that Temple failed to score.
Will Cummings scored 18 points for the Owls and tied his career high with 5 steals. Quenton Decosey contributed 17 points to the board. These numbers were not high enough.
Louisville lead the start of the second half by 13 points (42-29), which nearly reached 20 from the team’s five three pointers. The clock was just over 5 minutes of playing time. Temple struggled to bounce back to the Cardinals’ strategic offense. Dalton Pepper finally sank a three, but Louisville still led by 17 points at 7 minutes in. Missed jumpers and fouls made the win less probable for the Owls.
The Cardinals well secured its 24th win early in the half, topping its own self with a 29 point lead in the last 90 seconds. Temple bounced back to narrow the gap by 7 points. With just seconds till the buzzer, Nick Pendergast of the Owls ran for the dunk to finish the game at 88-66.
The Owls return to the Liacouras Center Saturday to face Houston at 9:00 p.m.
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