Out of the Owls eight games this season, five have been decided by five or less points. Although their matchup with St. Joe’s was decided by 6 and the matchup against Penn, 8, they were by no means comfortable wins for the Owls. What started as a runaway game for Temple, with a lead as large as 17, the Owl’s offense quickly fell apart. In the first half Temple was 31% from the field. Leading scorer, Obi Enechionyia, who has scored 20+ in all but two games prior to Penn’s contest, went into the half with only 2 points on the board. Foul shots at that. Obi’s offense that Temple has been able to depend on in those close matchups was absent against the Quakers. He did end the night with 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 blocks, sounds good. However, he also went 5-17 from the field, and 0-6 from behind the arc. In the Owl’s last game, he had 6 threes.
GUARD PLAY:
With Enechionyia’s offensive game inactive for the majority of the game, the guards are what kept Temple in a position of power. Alani Moore got the offense started with two huge back-back threes to help the Owls start off an 11-2 run. He finished with 12 points, 7 assists (1 turnover), 3 rebounds, and 1 steal. Shizz Alston has
been one of the most consistent players of the season. He led all Owls with 14 points, including
two critical free throws that helped solidify the win.
STERN ERN:
Not only was Obi’s game absent on the offensive end, but he was missed on the boards. Temple went into this game with a serious height advantage, and still Penn was able to hold their own with 39 rebounds to Temple’s 40. Obi had half of what he averages on the boards, but Ernest Aflakpui picked up the slack. Ernest likes to rebound. He led all with 11 rebounds, in addition to 11 points. Ern earned his second double-double of the season, as well as a personal best for rebounding.
CATCH THEM NEXT:
The Owls improve to 6-2 after the 70-62 victory over the Quakers. They are 3-0 in the Big 5, and will take on George Washington University Wednesday December 7th, at 7:30 pm. Temple’s win against Temple is also the 200th win at the Center, in the 20 years the Owls have been playing there.
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