Owls Knock off USF in Whiteout Thriller
ARTICLE BY BRENNAN SCUTT
PHOTO BY LILLIAN PRIETO
With time winding down in the second half, Temple Head Coach Adam Fisher needed a big moment from one of his players to secure a win against South Florida.
The third year head coach turned to guard Derrian Ford to call game for the Owls. But, Ford’s six-footer wouldn’t go down bouncing off the right side of the rim.
Luckily, it bounced right to Temple big man Mohammed Keita, who was Johnny on the spot and secured a putback layup. After some stress in the defensive final possessions, the Temple defense held strong, as the Owls picked up a 79-78 win at the Liacouras Center Saturday night.
There was no doubt Keita was the Owls player of the game. The seven-foot big man from Guinea has played sparingly for the Owls this season, but came up huge with two free throws down the stretch to give Temple the lead. Coming into the contest, Keita shot 16.7 percent from the free-throw line.
He credits lots of practice to his clutch foul shots. “We work on free throws every day after practice, it taught me to stay confident.”
In the early minutes of the contest, the Owls came out strong and gained a 12-point lead on the Bulls after a Masiah Gilyard three-pointer that sent the “Whiteout” crowd inside the Liacouras Center into a frenzy.
USF clawed their way back into the game and eventually took the lead on a Devin Haid layup with a couple of minutes left in the first half.
Despite this, it would be the Owls who would walk into halftime with a 39-38 lead while only shooting 19 percent from behind the arc.
In the second half, it was guard Aiden Tobiason who showcased his scoring presence after a strong first frame. Tobiason scored 14 points in the final 20 minutes, and the Owls needed every bit of it.
“I just have to keep putting shots up because everyone trusts me and I trust all my teammates,” Tobiason said
While the Owls’ offense was on full display, shooting 44 percent from the field, it was the defense that really was the highlight. The Bulls came into the matchup as the top scoring offense in the American with 90 points per game.
The Owls were ferocious on the defensive end of the floor, forcing 18 South Florida turnovers, which was the most the Bulls have had this season. Fisher credited the teams ability to intercept passing lanes as a reason why.
“I thought our activity was good, getting deflections, even forcing catches out [of bounds],” said Fisher.
Temple’s bench had 24 points compared to the Bulls’ 11 and gave Fisher some really strong minutes in the back-and-forth contest. Fisher spoke highly of backup center Babatunde Durodola in particular, who had seven points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
“I thought he was great, I thought he really rebounded it,” said Fisher.
Derrian Ford and Masiyah Gilyard also helped guide Temple to victory with Ford shooting 50 percent from three and Gilyard shooting five of seven from the field.
Once again Fisher spoke highly of his team’s shot election, saying, “So proud of these guys, they earned it. These guys now have built that bond, that trust.”
For South Florida, it was forward Izaiyah Nelson who led the Bulls in scoring with 18 points, while snagged eight rebounds. Guard Joseph Pinion hit some big shots for the Bulls shooting 50 percent from three, contributing to his 16 points.
But another crucial MVP in the Temple win was the crowd. The Owls drew a big crowd for the annual whiteout game and they did not disappoint, especially getting loud during big moments.
Fisher was the first to applaud the Temple faithful who came out to the game, saying, “When you have that atmosphere, it creates a home court advantage.”
Temple advances to 14-8 overall, 6-3 in the American, while the Bulls’ loss puts them with the same exact record in both columns.
The Owls will have a bit of time to regroup for their matchup vs East Carolina next Saturday at the Williams Arena, with Fisher joking about giving his guys off after five games in two weeks.
“I think they’re sick of seeing me,” he joked.
