Temple’s home opener did not come as easy as it the final score lets on.
The matchup between the Owls and the Blue Hens initially presented itself as battle down low between UDel forward Marvin King-Davis and Temple forward Jaylen Bond. But the real show starred Obi Enchionyia, who erupted by scoring 16 points for the Owls, just one shy of his career best. Enchionyia drained 3 threes, had 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks. His presence was surely felt on the court for the Owls in their home opener. Although his time was almost cut short due to falling wrong on the same ankle that kept him out of the UNC game. Head Coach, Fran Dunphy confirms, “…same ankle, we’ll take it easy tomorrow, hopefully he’ll be ready for Wednesday.”
Although Jaylen Bond, who scored 11 points and grabbed 4 rebounds, and Obi had a good night combined, Marvin King-Davis still put up monstrous numbers. King-Davis dropped 13 points and picked up 5 offensive and 5 defensive rebounds for the Blue Hens. Delaware out-rebounded Temple both offensively and defensively. “We just have to do a little better on the defensive glass, which we did not do today,” explains Coach Dunphy after being out-rebounded again. The Owls pressure did leave the Blue Hens looking frantic throughout the game, forcing them to find other players to step up offensively. Cazmon Hayes had 17 points and 9 rebounds, stepping up for the Hens.
On the flip side, the freshmen showed their poise once again. Levan Alston Jr. nailed two 3s in the final minutes of the first half to add cushion to Temple’s delicate lead going into the break. Trey Lowe also stepped up. Lowe dropped 8 points and came away with two steals. The freshmen, especially Trey Lowe, were able to put points on the board when veterns like Quenton DeCosey and Josh Brown failed to contribute. Although Decosey did not have a big offensively, he did manage to grab 7 rebounds and actually led the Owls in rebounds.
The Owls now hold a 2-3 record, and all losses are from top 25 ranked teams.
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