Temple wins another close one against Tulsa, 67-58

Temple is making a habit of closing out tight games.

The Owls (13-7, 6-3 American Athletic Conference) took down Tulsa (7-13, 1-8), 67-58, at the Liacouras Center Saturday afternoon behind a full-team effort at both ends of the floor, staving off a second-half push from the Golden Hurricane.

“[I’m thinking] I better strap in my seatbelt,” said Temple coach Aaron McKie, about Tulsa’s comeback. “With our guys nothing comes easy. We’re in close games a lot.”

Forward Rey Idowu accounted for most of Tulsa’s offense. He finished with a game-high 21 points while shooting a perfect 8-of-8 from the field.

Temple’s scoring column reflected more diversity. Owl forward Nick Jourdain had a team-high 15 points and 12 rebounds -- his first career double-double. He was followed by 13 points from guard Jeremiah Williams and forward Zach Hicks. Guard Damian Dunn, who fouled out of the game with 1 minute, 25 seconds left, chipped in 11.

The Owls swept the season series from the Golden Hurricane behind Saturday’s win, as they had previously won at Tulsa, 69-64, on Jan. 12. Up next, the Owls are slated to travel to South Florida on Monday, making up a postponed game from late January.

Temple’s defensive prowess, the kind that doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet, was instrumental in the win.

The Owls made a point of filling passing lanes coupled with deterring high pick-and-roll actions, forcing 16 Tulsa turnovers (compared to Temple’s 7).

Temple’s starting frontcourt tandem of Jourdain and Arashma Parks keyed in on Tulsa’s shooters, Jaylen Draine and Sam Griffin, coming off screens.

An 11-2 run by the Golden Hurricane over the course of four minutes, starting from the 14-minute mark of the second half, tied the game up at 40 with 10 minutes remaining. However, better defensive pressure and a timely Jourdain dunk helped Temple regain and sustain the lead.

Hicks found the bottom of the net three times from range, while Williams buried one. The other 19 three-point attempts from the Owls missed the mark (17.4%).

Tulsa’s zone defense gave Temple some extra space to shoot, but most attempts were to no avail, with the Owls finishing 4-for-23 from three.

The Owls came out in the second half playing with a more concerted effort to generate offense inside the arc. Rather than swinging the ball in hopes of putting the defense out of position, they pushed the ball inside for open looks within 15 feet of the basket.

At halftime, Temple honored its 1991 and 2001 teams, both of which made runs to the NCAA Elite Eight under the tutelage of late head coach John Chaney.

Last season would have marked the 20th and 30th anniversaries of both postseason runs. The teams’ recognition was postponed due to COVID policies prohibiting fans from attending home games.

Lynn Greer Jr., Quincy Wadley, Mark Macon, and Nate Blackwell were a few of the former players acknowledged.