Temple gets back to winning ways with home win over ECU

Written by: Owen Boyle

Photo by: Mike Zingrone

Temple ends a four game losing streak with 76-64 win over the ECU Pirates. Temple improves to 11-10 on the season, collecting their third conference win. 

The Owls had four players in double-digits, three having 14 points each. Quinton Rose was Temple’s leading scorer with 20 points. Alani Moore II, J.P. Moorman II, and Nate Pierre-Louis all had 14.

The Pirates were led by guard Tremont Robinson-White, scoring 21 points in 34 minutes played. ECU struggled from beyond all night, making just 4 three-pointers and shooting 23.5%. 

Temple’s defense held Jayden Gardner to a season-low 11 points. Gardner was the Pirates leading scorer this season, averaging 21 points-per-game.

Arashma Parks was a huge factor in shutting down Gardner. The freshman played 19 minutes, scoring nine points and grabbing three boards. Parks was also clutch from the line, making seven of ten free throws down the stretch. 

Coach Aaron McKie said, “Arashma was aggressive and physical with Gardner, which was the key to shutting him down.” 

The Owls dominated the opening ten minutes of the game and pulled out to a 15 point lead. The Pirates stormed back, going on a 15-0 run and took a slim two point lead at the half. 

Temple answered the Pirates comeback with a second-half surge. They took the lead at the 17:55 mark of the second period and never looked back. Strong perimeter shooting and free throws helped the Owls clinch the win down the stretch, sealing their 11th win of the campaign. 

The WHIP player of the game went to Temple forward J.P. Moorman II. JP collected his first double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and collecting 10 rebounds. Moorman made three 3-pointers and also shot 50% from the line. Moorman was also tasked with guarding Jayden Gardner, both played high school ball together in North Carolina.

J.P. will be the first to recognize his struggles this year, saying, “My struggles have been nobody’s fault but my own, I just have to keep remaining confident and aggressive.”

Both coach McKie and Moorman noticed that J.P. was more aggressive tonight, contributing to his success on the court.

J.P. said, “I need to be more aggressive when catching the ball and have confidence that I can knock shots down.”

The Owls started February on the right foot, but now travel to Memphis to take on the Tigers in a midweek AAC conference matchup, looking to make it two consecutive wins.