
The Owls would be short-handed yet again, as Will Cummings would suit up, but not play for Temple, as he missed his third straight game with a concussion.
Temple would grab their first lead of the game on a Josh Brown jumper to go ahead 21-19 with 11:10 remaining. The Explorers would respond however, as they began to heat up, closing the half on a 10-0 run to go to the locker rooms of the Palestra with a 36-31 halftime lead.
Tyrone Garland would lead all scorers in the first half, as the guard pitched in 10 points for La Salle. Jerrell Wright would add 9 for the Explorers in the half, but made no contributions on the glass, as the forward finished the half with zero rebounds.
Dalton Pepper led the Owls in the half with 9 points, but missed his last three shots of the half as the Explorers went on their run. Anthony Lee contributed 8 points and 6 rebounds in the half for the Owls, but after being held scoreless over the final 4:12 of the half, Temple found themselves trailing 36-31.
The Owls would close to within one, as they trailed 46-45 with just more than 13 minutes remaining, but the Explorers responded with a 12-3 run to take a 58-48 lead midway through the half. Temple would tighten things up a bit, but La Salle went to the final media timeout with a 66-60 lead and just 3:24 remaining in the game.
Temple would begin to close in over the final minutes, making things a bit uncomfortable for the Explorers. After going ice cold since early in the game, Dalton Pepper put in a layup to pull Temple within two, as La Salle led 70-68 with :38 left.
Tyreek Duren would be sent to the line however, and with :15.6 remaining, knock down both free throws to extend the Explorers' lead to 72-68 and ice the game on the way to a 74-68 La Salle win.
The win for the Explorers was their fifth straight, as they improved to 11-6 on the season. La Salle was led in the victory by guards Tyreek Duren and Tyrone Garland, who scored 20 and 17 points, respectively. Forward Jerrell Wright added 15 points, but struggled on the glass, grabbing just 3 rebounds, but center Steve Zack would more than make up for it, recording a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds.
Temple continued their struggles, as they dropped their sixth consecutive game to fall to 5-11 on the season. Quenton DeCosey led all scorers with 21 points for the Owls, while Anthony Lee notched a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds.
La Salle will be back in action on Wednesday, as they visit St. Bonaventure. Temple will next face Connecticut on Tuesday on the road.
By: Kyle Babcock
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