Owls drop first game of the season to Boston College
ARTICLE BY MATEO VERDEN
PHOTO BY LILLIAN PRIETO
Live by the three, die by the three was the lesson learned today by Temple as they received their first loss of the season to Boston College, 76-71.
The Owls started the game 0-9 from the three-point line this game, after shooting 50% from three their last game against LaSalle. When asked about the drop off in performance, head coach Adam Fisher said, “Just didn’t go in, I thought we had some good looks ourselves. You don’t expect to go 0-8 from three to start the game, we’ll figure that out.”
The Owls started the game going back and forth with Boston College until a 12-2 run put the Eagles up 10 points. That prompted a 10-0 run for the Owls that would go on to tie the game.
Boston College gained the upper hand, going into halftime leading 36-31.
At half, Temple was shooting 9-31 for a 29% field goal percentage and just under half of their points coming from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Boston College was shooting 40% from the field, with half of its points coming from beyond the arc. At this point, the game really felt like it could go either way, especially if Temple started hitting their threes.
The second half started very sloppily, with both teams missing shots, turning the ball over, and neither finding an edge.
Regardless, Temple got the second half going with a jam from guard Aiden Tobiason. The Owls quickly thereafter tied the game up at 41 apiece; little did they know that was the closest they would get for the rest of the game.
Moments after that, Boston College went on a 6-0 run, followed by a 10-0 run. The Owls did fight to the very end, however, going on a few runs of their own, bringing the game within five points. The teams would trade buckets for the last minute of the game, but ultimately, the Owls were unable to get enough late scoring, falling in the end.
Temple guard Derrian Ford led the Owls with 18 points, 9 rebounds. Some other contributors for the Owls were guard Gavin Griffiths with 16 points and four rebounds, alongside guard Mesiah Gilliard off the bench with 11 points and six rebounds.
For Boston College, guard Donald Hand Jr. scored 18 points of his own to go along with 11 rebounds. Forward Boden Kapke, with 17 points, hree rebounds, and three assists off the bench, and guard Fred Payne also with 17 points and four assists,were also contributors in the win.
The Owls drop to 2-1 on the year and will go on to face Hofstra, who sit with a 2-2 record.
Hofstra suffered those two losses to UCF and Iona, but since then has won two straight games against Molloy and Bucknell.
Two players to look out for from Hofstra are guards Cruz Davis, who is averaging 18 points per game and Preston Edmead, who is averaging 17.3 points per game. You can catch this game at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, November 17th, at the Liacouras Center.
