Temple survives Penn on free throws, win 77-73
WRITTEN BY: TOM HANSLIN @tomhanslin
Four late free throws made by Josh Brown secured Temple’s fourth win on Wednesday evening, as the Owls defeated Penn in crunch time, 77-73 at the Palestra.
Brown, who made four clutch buckets, finished the game with 10 points, the second-most points that he has tallied all season. Along with six total rebounds, the junior guard finished one assist shy of a double-double.
The only Owl that did earn a double-double was forward Jaylen Bond, who tallied 10 rebounds for the second consecutive game, and finished six of ten from the field with 12 points. Senior Quenton DeCosey led Temple with 22 points, the seventh time this season in which he recorded double-digit points.
The Owls and Quakers traded buckets in the early stages of the first half, and while Temple looked to further extend leads, Penn continued to shoot a hot rock, and cut their halftime deficit to eight, 38-30.
At the start of the second half, both teams maintained production on offense, but Owls’ forward Obi Enechionyia tacked on seven points on two shots, increasing the lead to 12, 53-41 midway through the half.
With nine minutes remaining, Penn refused to let up, as Quakers’ Jackson Donahue drained a three, trimming the lead to five, 57-52. From there, it was a continual rally from Penn’s offense, as the score remained within single digits with a minute left in regulation.
The Quakers were forced to foul off of the Owls’ inbound, and after Brown missed his one-and-one free throw, Donahue made another three from the wing, trimming Temple’s lead to three. After the bucket, DeCosey made both free throws to make the lead five again, but Penn rushed down court for an easy jumper made by Antonio Woods.
The marathon of fouls and free throws came down to Brown twice with less than 20 seconds on the clock, as he drilled four shots in the double-bonus. The final two points came with two seconds left, and as Penn took possession without timeouts to use, Bond forced a steal on the inbound as time expired.
The Owls’ victory improved the team to 4-4 on the season, and currently hold a nine-game winning streak against the Quakers. In the only Big 5 matchup between the teams this year, Penn dropped their fifth game in a row, and sit at a record of 4-5. It was the 70th meeting between the teams, with Temple as the victors in now 48 games.
Quakers’ guard Antonio Woods tied DeCosey with 22 total points, including seven assists and two steals. Forward Darion Nelson-Henry finished with 10 boards and 11 points, while the Quakers finished the contest shooting 52 percent from the floor (29-55). Penn also took 30 shots from behind the arc, and made 10 overall.
Temple will return home to the Liacouras Center this Sunday, as they will host another Big 5 matchup against St. Joe’s.
