Temple continues improbable AAC tournament run, upsets No. 3 seed Charlotte in quarterfinals

FORT WORTH, Texas — Almost 20 years ago, this would have been an Atlantic 10 showdown.

Now, it’s an American Athletic Conference clash.

Charlotte, in its first season in the AAC, put together a strong campaign and clinched the conference’s No. 3 seed and double bye. Temple, members of the AAC for over a decade, landed in 11th and have been playing for the past two days — though it’s some of the best basketball the Owls have played all season.

And now they’ll get at least one more game.

Temple beat Charlotte, 58-54, to win its third game in as many days. It’ll face No. 2 seed Florida Atlantic at 5 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2). The Owls (15-19) are the lowest seed to reach the AAC semifinals, surpassing No. 10 Tulane in 2016.

“It’s great to see,” junior forward Steve Settle III said. “You put in so much work; you put in so much time, and, like you said, we lost 10 in a row. We could have hung our heads, but we still showed up to work every day. So to see that pay off when it matters most means a lot.”

» READ MORE: Adam Fisher’s ‘loose and locked in’ mentality has Temple in the AAC quarterfinals

That doesn’t mean the Owls capitalized, though. They didn’t score from the field until the 12:35 mark, when Shane Dezonie intercepted a pass — a pick Temple football coach Stan Drayton would have been proud of — and streaked down the court before laying it in. Temple shot 19.2% in the first half and greatly improved on that number, shooting 35.7% for the game after making half of its second-half shots.

“We realized we weren’t putting the ball in the basket and despite that, we were only down four points,” Settle said. “So that was encouraging. As bad as we were playing, we were still right there. We knew we had to hit a couple shots, and they fell in the second half.”

Temple came out hot to start the second half, cutting its deficit to one on an alley-oop by Jordan Riley at the 15:24 mark. None other than Hysier Miller set up Riley’s highlight. Riley then hit the back end of a pair of free throws to tie the score, 25-25, 40 seconds later.

Riley’s scoring renaissance — he scored all 11 of his points in the second half and added 10 rebounds — coincided with the Owls’ offense coming alive. Temple used a 7-0 run to take its first lead of the game, 32-27, a run highlighted by a Sam Hofman go-ahead three. Hofman finished with six points and six rebounds.

“I try to keep my confidence up regardless if the ball goes through the hoop or not,” the senior forward said. “I’ll just try to bring energy, no matter what. I think it definitely helped to see the ball go through the hoop and encourage the team and bring that spark.”

Meanwhile, Charlotte was held scoreless for 2:29 and without a field goal for more than five minutes before Nik Graves energized the Niners faithful with a layup, cutting their deficit to one. Graves finished with 14 points, while Lu’cye Patterson led all scorers with 17 points. Igor Milčić Jr. finished with six points and 16 rebounds.

Charlotte, which shot 32.7% for the game, had its fair share of big buckets to cut into the deficit, but Temple quickly answered each time — and held onto the ball too, committing just six turnovers — and none in the second half — against a defense that entered the matchup ranked 23rd in the country in scoring defense.

And the distraction of double technicals on Miller and Graves — after Miller appeared to shove the ball into the 49ers guard after a bucket — didn’t disrupt that momentum. The Niners got within five with 2:50 left, but Miller, who finished with 11 points, swished a statement three with 2:24 remaining. Charlotte cut their deficit to three with 15.2 seconds left, but the damage was done.

The Owls’ success stems in part from a mentality forged under the men who preceded head coach Adam Fisher, but even as a kid in Bucks County, he noticed the grit John Chaney’s teams played with, a grit that carried through the Fran Dunphy and Aaron McKie years.

“I think Temple Tuff is when you score 18 points, but you’re guarding; you only give up 22,” Fisher said. “You’re rebounding. You’re being physical. You’re guarding without fouling. You’re setting great screens. You’re the first team on the floor. Like, that’s tough; that’s gritty.

“Part of Temple Tuff is having fun. That’s the element we’re trying to bring to it. … These guys are smiling out there. They’re having fun, they’re enjoying it, and that’s something that’s exciting for me as a coach to see.”