FAU’s win streak heads to Temple, as a battle of the Owls is on deck from Philadelphia and the Boca based Owls are going to be looking to make it 5 in a row. Temple lost at home for the first time this season in their last one, as Tulsa came into the Liacouras center and handed the Philly Owls an 80-74 loss.
Jamal Mashburn is out today for Temple and without his scoring the Philly Owls may have trouble keeping up with what FAU has been putting up offensively as of late.
Stay tuned below for live updates as the game progresses.
1H first 4-
With Mashburn out Temple was going to need others to step up and on the first possession of the game, Steve Settle stole it away from Leland Walker and took it coast-to-coast, throwing down a tomahawk jam to give Temple early momentum, also getting the crowd involved. The Owls had an early response in the form of Leland Walker, who hit 2 early mid-range jumpers, as well as splitting a pair of free throws and with 17:07 to play the Owls were trailing Temple 6-5. The back and forth battle continued over the next few minutes and heading into the U16 timeout with 15:54 to play, Temple was holding a 9-7 lead.
U12 timeout-
The Owls went into the U4, hitting only 2 of their first 7 shots from the field and out of the break it continued from there as they missed their next 3 and Temple grabbed a multi-possession lead for the first time, leading 11-7 with 14:53 to play. Kaleb Glenn snapped that with a made triple in transition and on the next possession FAU grabbed their first lead of the day, 12-11 with 13:34 to play, however it was only brief as he was also called for a flagrant foul, which Temple capitalized on and retook the lead with. The Owls were able to grab the lead right back 2 possessions later, Tre Carroll hit a wide open triple to give FAU a 15-13 lead which was the score heading into the U12 timeout with 11:44 to play. The Owls were leading the rebound battle and had an assist on all of their made shots through the first 8 minutes and change and it led to an early advantage.
U8 timeout-
Temple came out of the U12 timeout red-hot from the field, getting 3 straight triples and although FAU responded, it still led Temple to their largest lead of the day, 24-19 with 9:18 to play which forced John Jakus into a timeout with FAU facing their largest deficit of the day. The Owls responded out of the timeout, getting a high-flying jam from Miller and another bucket down low from Glenn and after another bucket from Glenn, the Owls were within 1, 26-25 Temple heading into the U8 timeout with 6:37 to play.
U4 timeout-
FAU decided to target Vokietaitis down low on the first 2 possessions out of the U8 and he was fouled both times, hitting 3 out of 4 free throws to give FAU a 29-28 lead with 5:11 to play. The back and forth battled waged on after that, as Quante Berry converted an and-1 on the next possession for Temple, regaining the Philly Owls the lead. Devin Vanterpool hit a pair of free throws to even it back up at 31, however Temple responded once again, getting another bucekt from Berry and heading into the U4 timeout with 4 minutes to play, Temple was leading 33-31.
Final 4-
Each side traded buckets on their first 2 possessions out of the U4 timeout, with Glenn and Carroll accounting for them for FAU and heading into halftime, the Owls trailed by 3, 38-35.
Halftime thoughts-
The Owls were doing well in certain areas, leading the rebound battle 23-19, also assisting on 70% of their made field-goals, however FAU turned it over 7 times which led to 7 Temple points and was a major factor in the Boca Owls trailing at half. FAU was also 2 of 16 from down town and their inability to hit from 3, combined with 7 turnovers was detrimental in the first half.
2H first 4-
The back and forth battle continued out of the halftime break, as Temple got 4 points from Zion Stanford and although FAU’s 3-point shot wasn’t falling, they were probing the interior with success and it kept them in the game early on. Heading into the U16 timeout with 15:53 to play, FAU was trailing Temple 42-41.
2H U12 timeout-
Things began to slow down out of the U16 timeout, as both sides traded misses on their first 2 possessions, however Temple began to grab momentum, snapping that streak with a 3 from Settle and an and-1 from Elijah Gray, taking their largest lead of the day 48-41 with 13:56 to play. After FAU turned it over for the 3rd straight possession, Temple got another triple, this time from Tobiason which forced FAU int a timeout, trailing 51-41 with 12:58 to play. The Owls snapped their scoreless streak out of the timeout, getting a bucket from Ken Evans Jr at the rim, however they fouled Shane Dezonie of temple on a 3-point attempt on the next possession and heading into the U12 with 11:47 to play Temple was holding a 51-43 lead.
2H U8 timeout-
Dezonie hit 2 out of 3 free throws to extend the lead back to double figures, and from there a back and forth battle began, as Moretti hit a layup for FAU to bring it back to 8, Dezonie added 2 more free throws on the next chance, and then Vokietatitis cut it to 7 with an and-1 to make it 55-48 Temple with 10:38 to play. After the back and forth battle continued for a few more possesions, FAU began to comeback, getting a fast break bucket from Moretti and after back to back triples from Kaleb Glenn, the Boca Owls were trailing 61-58 heading into the U8 timeout with 7:43 to play.
2H U4 timeout-
Both sides continued to go back and forth out of the U8, now much closer however. Dezonie scored 5 straight for Temple, however FAU responded with a triple from Carroll and pair of free throws from Moretti and with 6:11 to play, Temple was clinging to a 66-65 lead. They expanded their lead a bit following that, as Settle responded to Carroll with a triple of his own, while Elijah Gray and Stanford added 4 more and after bucket from Moretti snapped a 6-0 run, FAU was trailing Temple 73-68 heading into the U4 timeout with 4:22 to play.