AMHERST, Mass. – Temple is in a pretty good place right now. That might not be hard to tell from a look at their records, both overall (23-6) and in Atlantic 10 play (13-2), but watching them makes that clear. Even while short-handed due to injuries, the Owls continue to win and Fran Dunphy continues to show that he can flat-out coach, the latest example being their 73-67 overtime win at UMass on Wednesday night.
“I think we’re just in one of those rhythms that we’re finding a way,” Dunphy said after Wednesday’s game. “I didn’t think we played particularly well, and I would give UMass a lot of the credit for that.”
The numbers back up what Dunphy said, as the Owls shot 36.4 percent from the field and had as many turnovers (15) as assists on Wednesday. Meanwhile, UMass shot the ball well in regulation, including 50 percent in the second half. The Minutemen also had a 32-16 edge in points in the paint.
Temple trailed for a good portion of the game, as the Owls were down by four at the half and spent a lot of the second half trying to get a chance to tie it before finally breaking through. Several times, they got within three, but had very few chances to tie it because they would allow a UMass basket first. They finally tied it at 51 more than halfway through the second half, then the game became a back-and-forth affair until the end of regulation. Then in overtime, they scored the first five points and never allowed UMass to have a possession with a chance to tie it after that.
To some degree, this was the kind of game Temple needed. It was a tough road game, and a close game, the latter of which the Owls haven’t had many of. Only five games have been decided by five points or less, and the Owls are 3-2 in those games.
“We mentioned in the huddle that this is exactly what we needed to prove our mettle, and somehow we found a way,” said Dunphy. “I was obviously concerned throughout the game. We made some silly mistakes, too. We step inbounds on an inbounds play, we step in the foul lane, we throw the ball away when we’re up four late, not even really pressured. We just panicked a little bit. Hopefully we got all of those crazy things out of the way.”
Two things to like about this Temple team are that they run their offense well within the team concept and most of the team is versatile enough that they aren’t just scorers, passers, rebounders or something else. All seven Owls who got in the game scored, all but one rebounded, and four players had multiple assists. Just about every player is very capable of scoring inside or out, can handle the ball reasonably well for their position and pass. Leading scorer Ramone Moore had just seven points, but handed out seven assists on Wednesday.
“We’re a very unselfish team,” said senior Lavoy Allen, who had 14 points and 18 rebounds. “We’re a team that doesn’t worry about numbers that much or impressing people in the crowd. We just play together, and that’s the way we’ve been winning the last couple of games, so we’ve got to continue to do that.”
The one player who didn’t have a rebound is emerging freshman guard Aaron Brown, who made his fourth straight start on Wednesday night. Brown had 10 points on 4-7 shooting, all coming in the first half, and Dunphy and Allen both felt he kept them in the game. He played a career-high 20 minutes, although only three came after intermission. Dunphy said it was mainly a decision to go with more experienced players in a tight game, but likes what he has done thus far.
Brown was pressed into the lineup when Scootie Randall suffered a right foot injury against Richmond. Randall may be back soon, unlike another starter who recently got injured, junior big man Michael Eric. Eric is done for the season with a fractured right patella, suffered a game before Randall got hurt. While Eric isn’t a big offensive threat, he improved at that end and is a defensive presence. Dunphy could have moved Khalif Wyatt into the starting lineup when Randall went down, but is keeping him in his comfortable reserve role, where he could win the Atlantic 10’s Sixth Man of the Year award. In the meantime, he’s giving a freshman a chance.
“I think he was a little timid at first when he was first in the starting lineup,” Allen said of Brown. “Now teams are going to start respecting him, and it’s going to be a big help.”
Since Eric was lost for the season, Allen has been even better than he already was. He recently became the school’s all-time leading rebounder and has also topped 1,000 career points. Allen posted his fourth straight double-double on Wednesday, and he wasn’t far off in the first game after Eric’s injury as he had eight points and seven boards against Richmond.
Temple will close out the regular season on Saturday at home against fellow Big 5 team La Salle. With the win on Wednesday night, they will complete the regular season without losing consecutive games. That means they’ve maintained a good level of play during the season, which will bode well later. That starts with the Atlantic 10 Tournament next week, where they will be the No. 2 seed. Considering this has happened while a couple of injuries have occurred, it also means the team is in a good place.
