Temple showcases its new talent and look in a season-opening win against Delaware State
The Owls look much different this season with 11 newcomers on the roster. While Aiden Tobiason led the scoring charge, with a career-high 23 points, four offseason additions reached double digits.
Temple was clinging to a two-point lead against Delaware State on Wednesday night, looking for a breakthrough five minutes into the second half. The Owls got it from sophomore guard Aiden Tobiason, who changed the momentum after intercepting a pass and finished it off with a dunk.
Afterward, Temple poured in 39 points, while the Hornets struggled to keep pace. The end result was an 83-65 win for the Owls in their season opener at the Liacouras Center.
Temple showcased a completely different philosophy compared to last season. Tobiason, a Wilmington native who averaged 4.8 points last year, had a career-high 23 points, and the Owls made 16 of 22 attempts (72.7%) from the field in the second half. They also forced 16 turnovers and hit 54.4% of their shots.
“I think we’re just antsy,” Tobiason said. “We’re just throwing the ball and just not making the right reads a little bit. Once we calm down, once we trust in each other, play our game, that’s when we get into the flow of things.”
Temple returns to action against La Salle on Nov. 11 (7 p.m., ESPN+).
Transfers making an impact
Entering Wednesday, the main storyline was how Temple’s 11 new players would mesh when they stepped on the court.
It took 15 seconds for guard Gavin Griffiths, who joined the team from Nebraska, to make an impact. The junior flushed down a lob from forward Babatunde Durodola to get the scoring going. The dunk was the first of Griffiths’ 16 points.
Griffiths was one of four new additions to finish in double digits. Jordan Mason had 10 points and dished out six assists. He joined the team from University of Illinois Chicago to serve as Temple’s point guard, and it showed that the offense will flow through him.
“I still believe our depth was on the board today,” said head coach Adam Fisher. “Fifteen beats five. If we can have 15 guys on the same page and enjoy the team result, we’re going to get to where we want to get to and that’s got to stay the same.”
Guards Derrian Ford (14 points) and AJ Smith (10 points) also displayed their skills in their debut as an Owl. And Masiah Gilyard joined the party with his efforts coming on the defensive side of the court.
» READ MORE: Former Inquirer sportswriter Joe Juliano is among 2025 inductees to Big 5 Hall of Fame
CJ Hines, who has scored more than 2,000 career points, was unable to play due to being under review by the NCAA for potential eligibility concerns before his enrollment at Temple. He joined the team from Alabama State.
New team, new results
Fisher went into the season on a mission to upgrade two things: rebounding and defense.
Last season, Temple ranked last in the American Conference in defense, giving up 77.7 points per game, and seventh in rebounding. Against Delaware State, those issues are starting to get addressed.
The Owls were quicker to help on defense and the communication was better. Delaware State got out to a fast start, thanks to Zion Bethea and Ademar Santos, who had 20 and 15 points, respectively.
Until, the Hornets were stifled by an Owls defense who pressured high. The Owls’ 16 turnovers were the most since they forced 20 against Holy Family on Dec.10, 2024. Durodola made his impact with two blocks and Gilyard, one of the best rebounding guards in the country, had six rebounds.
“[Rebounding] wasn’t where I wanted it to be last year. We tried to outscore you,” Fisher said. “So we tried to really work a ton this offseason, like, ‘Hey, we got to guard better.’ How does your offense get better? Through your defense. The more stops, and we created 16 turnovers tonight, the more we can get out in transition — I think we’re good transition offensive team — that’ll help our scoring.”
The Owls’ offense also looked refreshed. Temple went through multiple players, after relying mostly on isolation ball last season, and its 15 assists were the most since Temple’s upset against Memphis on Jan. 15.
Tobiason’s scoring touch
Entering the season, Fisher claimed that he expected Tobiason to take more of a scoring role.
And he did just that in the season opener. The first half was sluggish, and despite having seven points, he missed five shots and multiple attempts at the charity stripe.
“I got the first the first game jitters out, it’s just getting [to] that flow state,” Tobiason said.
In the second half, he had a different game, as he scored 16 of his 23 points. Tobiason didn’t miss a shot in the final 20 minutes of action, and he also led the team with four steals.