Temple wraps up fourth seed in AAC Tournament with rout
Damian Dunn led the Owls with 27 points as they cruised past South Florida. Tulane awaits in the conference tourney.
A 13-0 run in the second half gave Temple plenty of breathing room Sunday in a 75-47 rout of South Florida in the regular-season finale at the Liacouras Center.
Temple (17-11, 10-7 American Athletic Conference) took out most of its starters with less than five minutes left in the game while leading 68-36. South Florida fell to 8-22, 3-15.
The Owls led by 37-26 at halftime after shooting 41.4% from the field and 41.7% on three-pointers. The Bulls, meanwhile, were ice cold from deep, making 1-of-18 three-pointers for the game.
Guard Damian Dunn led Temple with 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists, going 9-of-10 from the free-throw line. Forward Zach Hicks added 12 points, shooting 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Sam Hines Jr. led the Bulls with 12 points.
With the win, Temple wrapped up the fourth seed and a first-round bye in the AAC Tournament, which begins Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas. Last season, the Owls finished ninth in the conference.
“The biggest thing for us is everything we went through on and off the court,” Dunn said of this season. “Many tribulations in the way like injuries, guys missing minutes, in and out of rotations and everything on the fly.”
The Owls lost to South Florida, 52-29, on Feb. 7 as Dunn (ankle) and Jeremiah Williams (shoulder) were injured in the second half. Temple was still without Williams on Sunday afternoon.
The Owls will play fifth-seeded Tulane (13-13, 10-7) in the AAC quarterfinals on Friday at 3 p.m.
White’s consistency
When Dunn and Williams were hurt the first time the Owls played the Bulls, forward Jahlil White stepped up on the boards.
“He’s going to be a matchup advantage for us,” coach Aaron McKie said of the 6-foot-7 freshman. “His athleticism and versatility is something you don’t see on the stat sheet.”
In the Owls’ last six games, White had scored more than 10 points per game. He scored nine on Sunday. White has posted two double-doubles this season.
White, who is averaging 4.1 rebounds per game, is a key defensive component and guards the other team’s best offensive player. Against the Bulls, White was all over the floor.
In the second half, White made a three-pointer to give the Owls a 53-35 lead with less than 13 minutes left. After the basket, White stole the ball away from South Florida guard Caleb Murphy.
White also contributed seven rebounds and three assists.
Saluting seniors
Temple celebrated five seniors and their families in the Liacouras Center finale: Colin Daly, Jake Forrester, Arashma Parks, Tai Strickland, and Sage Tolbert. Besides Daly, each senior has eligibility remaining.