The Temple Owls will finish the 2016-2017 regular season with a winning record at 16-15 (7-11 AAC) after their 72-60 victory over University of South Florida on Sunday afternoon.
Four Owls finished in double figures as the Cherry and White were swishing three balls all afternoon. Temple made 11 threes, with great performances from Obi Enechionyia and Daniel Dingle.
Enechionyia has struggled with consistent shooting throughout the season but #0 was 4-8 from behind the arc and finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals.
While Enechionyia has certainly had his hot and cold streaks, senior Daniel DIngle continues to be a model of consistency. Dingle finished with 17 points and 5 assists and 2-3 from three to lead the Temple O. Shizz Alston Jr. and freshman Quinton Rose chipped in 13 points apiece as well, and Rose was a nuisance on defense with 6 steals.
South Florida (7-22, 1-17) trailed throughout almost all of Sunday’s matinee. The Bulls and Owls traded buckets early on, but after an Alani Moore three with 6:36 remaining in the first half broke the 20-20 tie, South Florida was forced to try and play catch-up.
USF’s Geno Thorpe tried his best to help give the Bulls their second AAC victory with 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, but the home team shot themselves in the foot constantly as they turned the ball over 19 times and shot 5 for 12 from the free-throw line.
The Temple Owls’ postseason matchup was already set prior to Sunday’s game, they will take on East Carolina on Thursday at 3:30 in the first round of the AAC Tournament, but it is certainly a great thing to end the regular season by winning their final two contests.
Temple and East Carolina split the regular season series, with each team winning in a rout on their home floors. With Thursday’s game taking place on a neutral court, fans should be in for a treat as the two duke it out to face the top-seeded SMU.
Be the first to comment