# Ugliness all around as Temple loses to Richmond

PHILADELPHIA - The clank of the rim when a ball hit became a familiar sound Sunday night for the Owls.

The Owls played their first of two games at the Palestra against Richmond on Sunday night, and wound up being booed off the court in an ugly 79-51 loss to the Spiders. It's hard to pinpoint anything the Owls did well, but what can be said is that the offense was the main driver of Sunday night's struggles.

The Owls attempted 32 shots from beyond the arc,only hitting seven of them. Lots of preventable turnovers occurred, as the Owls turned it over 16 times. On top of that, they were treating the ball like a hot potato, throwing it to whoever with no plan in place.

To start, the Owls allowed Richmond to go on a 14-0 run in the first five minutes. Five minutes of no scoring for the Owls dug them a grave they couldn't get out of, despite multiple chances where it looked like they could.

“Every chance we thought we could \[get back into the game\], we then give up a layup or a three and relax,” said head coach Adam Fisher. “You can’t relax.”

At the end of the first half, it was only a 14 point lead for Richmond, thanks to the defense being able to keep it competitive. But just like the second half of the season opener against Central Connecticut State, the defense couldn't hold.

To start the second half, the Owls allowed Richmond to score, Christian Beam was then called for a foul, which was then followed by Beam turning it over. Luckily nothing came of the turnover, which then allowed Cam Scott to get hot as he knocked down back to back threes to get the Owls back into it.

But like most of the game, more mistakes were made to shoot down the momentum that was building.

By the second media timeout of the second half, the Owls were down 22 and the team had seemingly given up. The defense which was effective for the Owls in the first half, started to crumble as well.

“Our intensity just wasn't there,” said Fisher.

It seemed like every other possession that the Spiders had in the second half, there was blown coverage by the Owls, and there was a Spider waiting in the corner for a wide open three.

But just like the season opener, the Owls were trigger happy from three. The Owls 7-32 from beyond the arc featured a 0-8 start to the game. They finished shooting 28.3% on field goal attempts, with 32 of the 53 shots being from three.

The size they got in the transfer portal that Fisher went on about has not mattered, as the Owls rarely drive into the paint, or set up mid-range shots.

As the final buzzer sounded, the Owls were booed off the court, sealing an ugly 79-53 loss.

On a brighter side of things, Owls true freshman Derrick Morton-Rivera scored his first collegiate points off of free throws late in the game. Fifth year Derrian Ford also seems to be healthy, as he played a team high 27 minutes and was second in scoring with 11 points, right behind Scott who had his breakout game for the Owls with 13 points.

The Owls don't have much time to reset, as their next game will be on Wednesday.

“We gotta come right back.” said Fisher, “We’re playing College of Charleston, a damn good team.”

Charleston has finished top three in the CAA in each of the last three seasons, including two March Madness appearances in 2023 and 2024. Fisher left with one last message.

“Don’t allow one to become two…we got a great opportunity at home and we got to make sure that we bring it from the start.”

The Owls (1-1) will play at home against College of Charleston (2-0) on Wednesday night and hope to rebound.