Tough Loss For Temple In OT vs. Longhorns

It was a tough break for the Owls in OT, as they failed to stop the Longhorns in the last few seconds en route to the 81-80 overtime loss.  It was a good job, good effort from both teams, but in the end, it was Texas who walked away victorious.  

After falling behind 48-37 at the half, Temple stepped their game up big time in the second half, by outscoring the Longhorns 36-25 in the half.  Anthony Lee led the way for the Owls with a monstrous performance, scoring 23 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.  Lee made his presence known and was very effective down low, scoring his 23 on 10-15 from the field.  Although he failed to make the second free throw at the end, Dalton Pepper played well overall, scoring 20 points while also contributing five assists and two steals.  DeCosey played an all-around great game, scoring 11 points, snaring 6 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists.

Temple played a terrific zone defense in the second half, which held Texas to 25 points.  Although the zone could use a little work if they want it to work against tougher opponents, it's a good sign to see that Temple is willing to be more flexible and versatile on defense in order to maintain a competitive edge.  While they looked good in the paint in the zone, the guards kept creeping out too far beyond the three point line, stretching the defense and creating holes for the Longhorns.  When they review the film from this game, I'm sure Dunphy will let Pepper and the other guards know of this and the zone defense will be much improved come 2014.

Next Game: Wednesday December 18 vs. Texas Southern 7pm
By: Dan Goggin