Owls Late Surge Falls Short, Loses to George Washington

The Temple Owls could not find an offensive rhythm until it was too late in their 66-63 loss to George Washington on Wednesday night. In the first half, the Owls found open looks within George Washington’s 2-3 zone but simply could not buy a bucket as they shot 10 of 25 from within the arc. Obi Enechionyia led the charge during the first twenty minutes with 10 points, and 5 other Owls scored, but George Washington’s Tyler Cavanaugh and Co. controlled the boards and the pace of the game a took a 6 point lead into intermission.

The George Washington Colonials opened up the second half with a 10-3 run to gain a 41-28 lead at the 16:06 mark. Freshman Alani Moore took over the Owls’ offense with 3 three-pointers within the first seven minutes, but George Washington’s Collin Smith and Jordan Roland were too much for the Owls to handle. Smith had 11 points and 7 boards and Roland recorded 14 points and 4 rebounds throughout the night. The George Washington lead climbed to as much as 15 in the game.

The Owls’ top scorer Obi Enechionyia recorded his fifth and final foul with 3:41 remaining and Temple down by 8. George Washington’s Tyler Cavanaugh hit two free throws to put the Colonials up 10 and the battle at the Liacouras Center seemed to find its victor. But Daniel Dingle and the rest of the Owls would not go down without a fight.

With the score at 61-52, senior Josh Brown hit his second three ball of the night to trim the deficit to 6. Then, Daniel Dingle channeled his inner Steph Curry and knocked down threes ball on two straight possessions to tie it all up at 61 apiece. Tyler Cavanaugh took over the game for George Washington though as he knocked down a pair of free throws and then hit a contested fade-away three-pointer as the shotclock expired to regain the lead at 66-63 with 7 seconds remaining. Daniel Dingle had one more clean look at the basket but his three-attempt clanked off the iron and Temple’s 5 game win streak was snapped.

Daniel Dingle, SportsDesk’s Player of the Game, had 14 points and 7 assists. He led the Cherry and White in scoring for the first time this season. 9 of the 11 points scored by Alani Moore came from behind the arc. The freshman guard is 7 for 10 from behind the arc in the last two games. Senior Josh Brown played a season high 24 minutes and racked up 10 points, 2 assists and 0 turnovers.

Obi Enechionyia, the Owls leading scorer at 19 points per game, has struggled the last two games. Enechionyia has posted 12 points in each of the last two games after his hot start. The junior has 26 threes on the year, but has only taken 20 free throws in 9 games.

The Owls will look to get back to their winning ways as they travel to Miami, FL to face DePaul in the Miami Hoophall Invitational. Tip-off is at 11:30 AM and the game can be watched on ESPNU.