Photo used w/ permission of Tug Haines. Temple welcomed 3-7 Texas Southern to the Liacouras Center tonight and saw a Philadelphia native and former La Salle Explorer put up huge numbers. Center Aaric Murray returned to Philadelphia after an odd journey through his college career and put up 48 points in front of family and friends as the Tigers topped the Owls 90-89.
Texas Southern jumped to a quick lead out of the gate as Murray tallied 6 quick points. Behind hot shooting early the Tigers put the Owls in a hole, leading by as much as 8 in the first half and heading to the locker room up 45-42.
Texas Southern jumped to a quick lead out of the gate as Murray tallied 6 quick points. Behind hot shooting early the Tigers put the Owls in a hole, leading by as much as 8 in the first half and heading to the locker room up 45-42.
Murray led the way for the Tigers, putting on a clinic early and often as he tallied 21 first half points on 9 of 12 shooting.
While Temple shot 62.1 percent in the first half, they struggled to find an answer for Murray and found themselves battling to stay in the game early. Quenton DeCosey led the charge for the Owls in the first half, scoring 11, while Dalton Pepper notched 9 points.
There would be no cooling off for Aaric Murray at the half, as the center emerged from the locker room on fire, quickly adding to his already impressive point total. The Owls would find themselves down by as much as 14 in the half, but a furious Temple rally would make it a game down the final stretch.
Temple would take a 1-point lead with just 14 seconds remaining, but a suspect foul call would put Madarious Gibbs on the line for the Tigers. Gibbs would knock down both free throws to put Texas Southern ahead 90-89 and a last-second attempt by Temple would fall short as Dalton Pepper tipped the ball in just after time expired.
The Owls simply could not find an answer for Murray all night, as the center scored 48 points on 20 of 28 shooting in his return to the City of Brotherly Love. It was a record-breaking performance by Murray, as he scored the most points ever by a Temple opponent.
"We need to be more poised and attentive to detail, we made a few of those mistakes tonight"-said Temple coach Fran Dunphy following the game. "Some of the aspects of the game we're getting better at, but some we need to improve on."
DeCosey led all Temple scorers with 19 and Will Cummings pitched in 16, but with no answer in the paint for Murray the Owls rally fell short.
By: Kyle Babcock
Follow us on Twitter: @BroadStBeat
While Temple shot 62.1 percent in the first half, they struggled to find an answer for Murray and found themselves battling to stay in the game early. Quenton DeCosey led the charge for the Owls in the first half, scoring 11, while Dalton Pepper notched 9 points.
There would be no cooling off for Aaric Murray at the half, as the center emerged from the locker room on fire, quickly adding to his already impressive point total. The Owls would find themselves down by as much as 14 in the half, but a furious Temple rally would make it a game down the final stretch.
Temple would take a 1-point lead with just 14 seconds remaining, but a suspect foul call would put Madarious Gibbs on the line for the Tigers. Gibbs would knock down both free throws to put Texas Southern ahead 90-89 and a last-second attempt by Temple would fall short as Dalton Pepper tipped the ball in just after time expired.
The Owls simply could not find an answer for Murray all night, as the center scored 48 points on 20 of 28 shooting in his return to the City of Brotherly Love. It was a record-breaking performance by Murray, as he scored the most points ever by a Temple opponent.
"We need to be more poised and attentive to detail, we made a few of those mistakes tonight"-said Temple coach Fran Dunphy following the game. "Some of the aspects of the game we're getting better at, but some we need to improve on."
DeCosey led all Temple scorers with 19 and Will Cummings pitched in 16, but with no answer in the paint for Murray the Owls rally fell short.
By: Kyle Babcock
Follow us on Twitter: @BroadStBeat
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