Temple’s comeback falls short vs. East Carolina for third straight loss

Temple overcame an 11-point first-half deficit in the first half against East Carolina. Then, the Owls faced another in the fourth quarter.

Temple attempted a comeback at the Liacouras Center on Saturday, but every time it scored, the Pirates had a response. Temple cut its deficit to four in the final minutes, but East Carolina held the Owls off and handed them a 79-73 loss. It’s their third-straight loss, putting them in danger of missing the American Conference tournament.

Temple (10-14, 4-8 American) is in ninth place in the conference standings and has six games remaining in the regular season. The top 10 teams qualify for the tournament.

“It was a tough game,” coach Diane Richardson said. “We are trying to learn how to put four quarters, and [we’ve] got some things to work on. I look at the stat sheet, and we sat back for a bit, then we turned it on. So we’ve got to just be consistent.”

The Owls focused on attacking the paint early, and Saniyah Craig led the effort.

The junior forward scored a game-high 20 points and added six rebounds. Sophomore guard Savannah Curry finished with a season-high 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting and a team-best eight rebounds. Temple struggled with turnovers and gave the ball away 24 times. Every Owl who played had at least one turnover.

» READ MORE: Kaylah Turner went from Temple’s top reserve to leading scorer in the American — and she isn’t satisfied

“I was really just playing my game,” Craig said. “Playing slower because usually when I speed up, I throw the ball over the rim, so I was just playing slower and playing my game.”

The Pirates (19-7, 11-2) were led by guard Kennedy Fauntleroy and forward Anzhané Hutton, who scored 19 points apiece.

Temple shot 69.2% from the field in the first quarter and 50% through 20 minutes, but couldn’t get out of its own way. Temple committed 17 turnovers in the first half, which East Carolina turned into 13 points. The Pirates built an 11-point led midway through the second quarter before Temple found its footing.

The Owls ended the quarter on an 11-0 run, thanks to strong defense and free-throw shooting. A free throw by Tristen Taylor (10 points, seven assists) sent the game to halftime tied at 36, but Temple failed to carry that momentum into the second half as its offense went cold.

The teams traded baskets for much of the third frame before the Pirates pushed their lead to 11 in the final minute. Temple spent the fourth quarter searching for a comeback and got within four points multiple times but could not come up with a clutch basket or defensive stop to get over the hump.

“I need our bench to be more aggressive and give us more,” Richardson said. “Oftentimes, I try to give our starters a little rest, but our bench has really got to step up and fill those gaps so there is not much of a drop off. And that’s on me.”

Temple guard Kaylah Turner (14 points) knocked down two free throws to cut East Carolina’s lead to 75-71 with 32 seconds remaining, then stole the ensuing inbounds pass to give Temple another chance to get within one possession.

However, Turner moved a little too quickly and lost control of the ball. Pirates guard Jayla Hearp grabbed it, and the Owls were forced to foul. Temple did not get another opportunity as East Carolina made its free throws to secure the win.

The Owls will visit Charlotte (12-13, 6-6) on Tuesday(6:30 p.m., ESPN+).