January 11, 2021 –
For the second time this season the Temple Owls faced the SMU Mustangs. Temple has played four games this season, taking the court for the first time in nine days, while SMU took the court nine times. The result was the same as the Owls lost to the Mustangs 79 – 68 in Dallas.
The issue was decided midway through the second half. Temple trailed 61 – 56 after two free throws by Damian Dunn, 2 of his 17 points as he made 9 of 11 from the free throw line. The Mustangs responded scoring the next 10 points of the game over three minutes taking control. The Cherry and White started to generate some offense, but not enough as they did not cut the deficit to under double-digits.
“Those guys started to make shots,” said Temple Coach Aaron McKie. “You’ve got the keep grinding. That’s part of the game. Teams are going to make runs on you, then you have to be able to make runs against those guys. We went on a scoring drought. Sometimes you have to mix and match with some different pieces to try to get into a flow on the offensive end.”
Brendan Barry scored a team-high tying 17 points as he sank 5 of 7 three-pointers, all in the first half. It was the second straight game where Barry was a leading scorer for the Owls. He adds more to the attack than three’s according to McKie.
“He gives us a sense of calm out on the floor,” McKie said. “He’s a cool customer that doesn’t get rattled much. He’s a fighter out there and that’s what you want.”
Kendric Davis was the leading scorer getting 20 for the Mustangs making 6 of 13 from the floor and 7 of 8 from the line. Three other SMU players broke double figures with Feron Hunt scoring 18 points and pulling down a game-best 11 rebounds. Emmanuel Bandoumel contributed 16 points while Ethan Chargois got 12 markers.
The Owls stand at 1 – 3 and the schedule has them slated to play UCF at the Liacouras Center. Temple looks for their first win in the American.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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