ACC Tournament: Temple 75 – SMU 60
It isn’t March without upsets and storylines, and that’s exactly what this Temple team has brought to the AAC tournament. Behind a team effort, and a dominating second half in which the Owls outscored the Mustangs 43-27, Temple punched their ticket to the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament, beating Temple 75-60.
Hysier Miller did his thing scoring 21, but it was once again a team effort that was the deciding factor for an AAC tournament team as the Owls had 5 players score 8+, and when they needed a timely bucket, they got one. After the game, Coach Fisher explained how it was a team effort that got him and his guys through this tough matchup.
“Really proud of these guys. I think our connectivity and togetherness has shown, our defense has really picked it up with our activity and our rebounding. I thought everybody played a part in it and we needed everyone. Certain nights certain guys will step up, and that’s what our team is about, being there together and doing it for a full 40,” Coach Fisher said,
This was a tightly contested battle from the jump, but SMU got hot quickly and jumped out to a 12-5 lead with 16:02 to play and had baskets from 4 different players early.
The Mustangs had energy early and maintained a multiple possession lead through the first 10 minutes, but Temple wasn’t ready to give in just yet.
Temple got back-to-back triples from Hysier Miller and Shane Dezonie and the Owls were stroking back, trailing 19-18, with 7:26 to play.
SMU railed and got a triple from Chuck Harris, and they were able to hold a 4-point lead for a majority of the rest of the first half.
That was until Hysier Miller who had 12 first half points, hit a pull up jumper before the half to send the Owls into the break with momentum and only trailing by 1, 33-32.
Temple carried their momentum into the second half, and it helped them keep it a close game through the early part of the second half. The Mustangs were able to jump out to a 7-point lead as they did in the first half, but back-to-back triples from Ja’Heim Hudson and Jahlil White cut the defecit to 1, 43-42 with 14:45 to play.
Temple tied it up a few possessions later on a bucket from Shane Dezonie, and then on the very next possessions Temple took their first lead of the game, 49-46 and they never looked back from there.
The Owls turned that into a 9-0 run and before you could blink, Temple was up 53-46 with 9:27 to play and were getting timely shots from a variety of players. After the game, Hysier Miller explained it was his team’s ability to play as a unit that helped them finish off the Mustangs late.
Our togetherness, I feel like that’s been the growing thing with our team since December. We have a lot of guys that step up to that leadership position and hold us together. We just didn’t blink, last game we were down 15-0,” Miller said.
That lead catapulted into a double-digit lead following a 10-2 Temple run, and following a pair of free throws from Stevie Settle the lead was at its largest, 63-49 with 4:59 to play.
SMU scored a quick 5 straight to get it back to single digits, however Temple responded once again, getting a barrage of free throws to quickly get it back to 67-54 with 3:12 to play.
SMU was able to cut it to single digits again a few possessions later, however that was as close as they would get as Temple put on a spirited performance in the second half, especially late. There was no falter down the stretch for the Philly Owls, as they hit their free throws and made timely baskets eventually defeating the Mustangs, 75-60.
That win made it 2 in a row and set up a trip to the quarter finals for the Owls who didn’t have many expectations coming into this tournament and now are 2 wins away from the finals. If you ask Hysier Miller, the team has gotten back to doing what they do best, having fun.
“That’s the name of the game, we’re having fun out there. We’ll be able to communicate, find guys and just make the right plays. 5 games in 5 days really isn’t our mission, our mission is to make it tomorrow,” Miller said after the game.
Temple once again has the nightcap, taking on Charlotte at 9 pm est on ESPNU.