It may be March, but there were no upsets in Orlando today. Temple handled the Bulls easily for a first round win in the AAC tournament with a 79-62 defeat over USF. The Owls will face the winner of the Cincinnati (no.4) vs. UConn (no.5). game, Saturday in the Amway Center.
Going into the game Owls needed to be ready for freshman, Jahmal McMurray. Although McMurray had 16 points, including a buzzer beater three to end the first half, his presence was irrelevant to The Bulls offense. Josh Brown was able to keep McMurray from controlling USF’s offense. The rookie may have had sixteen points, but the freshman point guard did not do much else. Dunphy praises Brown for being able to handle “…a great player (McMurray)…Brown did a very good job on him.” McMurray only contributed one assist, and found himself in foul trouble throughout the first half.
The Owls defensive has been strong all season, and it did not let up against USF. Temple’s aggression was able to pick 10 steals, and force 15 USF turnovers. Throughout the game the Owls fought for second chance opportunities offensively, and they were also able to limit the amount of second chance opportunities The Bulls had due to their impeccable defensive efforts.
Temple had yet to face off against USF big, Chris Perry, and it showed. Perry dropped 19 points and picked up eight rebounds for The Bulls, but not even a stellar performance from their “secret weapon” was enough to quiver Jaylen Bond. Bond was a beast down low, despite being undersized against Perry and Jaleel Cousins. Since Bond was able to stay out of foul trouble for the latter half of the game, he was able to dominate in the paint. He led the Owls offensively with 17 points, and grabbed eight rebounds, six of which were offensive. After a beastly performance, Bond explains, “…If our main goal is to make the tournament, you have to win it here (AAC’s).”
Bond was not the only player dropping buckets for the Owls. For the third time this season Temple has had at least five players score in the double figures. Led by Bond with 17, DeCosey followed with 14, Obi picked up 13, Williams with 11, and Devin Coleman rounding it out with 10 points. Josh Brown was just a bucket shy of scoring in the double figures as well, in addition to dishing out seven assists and grabbing three rebounds.
The Owls NCAA Tournament dream is able to live another day with a 79-62 victory over USF. Temple will face the winner of Cincinnati and UConn in what is bound to be an eventful game. Coach Dunphy admits, “…I am very impressed with both of these teams, and we better be ready to go.” if they would like to survive and advance.
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