Temple Wins 69 – 64, the First Win at Tulsa in Program History
January 12. 2022 –
Nick Jourdain set a career-high in the Owls previous game. When he took the floor at Tulsa, it was his mother’s birthday. She had a wish.
“It’s my mother’s birthday today,” said Jourdain. “She was telling me for her birthday she wanted me to break my career-high again.”
He did scoring 23 points to set a new mark. His gift to Temple was 23 points to lead the team to a 69 – 64 win, the first time the team has done so at Tulsa. Jourdain made 9 of 17 from the floor and 4 of 5 free throws and a three-pointer. The forward is contributing as the Cherry and White are on a three-game winning streak. The offensive output is the result of wanting to be complete player.
“He’s emerging,” Temple Coach Aaron McKie said about Jourdain. “He’s been working on his game and getting better. It takes time. It’s a progression to get to this point. He’s in there working and getting better each game. I told him to demand more from himself, get greedy, and want more.”
Jourdain put up a game-high in shot attempts that came from both inside and outside the arc. He credits those around him for the recent run of scoring.
“It’s my teammates and coaches instilling confidence in me, letting me know I got talent, I got skills, and keep pushing,” Jourdain said.
The Owls took control of the game midway through the second half. The Golden Hurricane led 47 – 42 with just under 12 and half minutes to play. Temple responded with a 13 – 0 run to move in front by 8 in just over five minutes capped by a Jourdain basket.
Tulsa did not go away and clawed back to within 62 – 58 with 2:12 to play. Temple answered at the free throw line to stay ahead as their last eight points came at the free throw line from Damian Dunn, Jahlil White, and Jourdain.
The golden Hurricane created one last chance. With 21.5 ticks left on the clock and the Owls leading by two. Dunn was called for an offensive foul. On the ensuing possession Tulsa forward Jeriah Horne got open on the base line and drove to the basket. He had a layup, but left it short. Temple survived and extends its winning streak to three games. The team is understanding what it takes to win.
“It’s hard to win, so they’ve got to understand their habits,” McKie said. “You create good habits in practice. You do the little things that help win basketball games. Rebound, communicate, keeping your guy in front of you, those are the little things. It’s not making a last second shot or big threes. Those things are a part of it, but I think they are starting to understand how to do the little things better and that’s helping us to win games.”
Dunn scored 17 points. He has scored in double digits in the last 11 games. White recorded his first career double-double getting 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The leading scorers for Tulsa scored a total of 23 points. Horne netted 15 while Sam Griffin was limited to 8 points.
Temple will look for a four-game streak next week hosting Wichita State.
“We’re growing,” said McKie. “I don’t want the guys to be satisfied. I want more, and hopefully, they want more.”
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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