Temple loses their first in Brooklyn before heading to break

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Temple went on the road for the first time this season as they traveled to Brooklyn for the Legends Classic. They dropped the first game against VCU, which was their first loss of the season. The following round, they got back in the win column with a dominating victory over California.

Temple vs. VCU

Temple lost a low scoring match against VCU in the semi-finals of the Legends Classic. It was a close game, as the final score was only separated by six, 57-51. Temple got out to a slow start, and never could recover. The second half, they battled back, but VCU was too much for the Owls to handle, and they could never manage to cut their lead down.

Marcus Evans led the charge for VCU, as he ended the game with 21 points. Temple, on the other hand, had a lot of distribution when it came to scoring, but Nate Pierre-Louis ended with the most points out of the Owls with 11. Pierre-Louis also added eight rebounds. With the victory, VCU moved onto the finals where they eventually lost in overtime by one to St. John’s, 87-86.

This loss was Temple’s first one of the year, as they dropped to 4-1.

Temple vs. California

St. John’s beat Cal in the semi-finals to send them to the consolation game. Temple was also headed to that game due to their loss to VCU. The two faced off on Tuesday, and it was all Temple, as they got the win, 76-59.

The first half was very close, Temple only had a four-point lead going into the half. The second half was a completely different story, as Temple put away the Golden Bears as the Owls put up 44 in the second half. A big part of the dominating win came from Shizz Alston, Jr. who had a double-double. He ended with 15 points and 10 assists. Quinton Rose led all scorers with 23.

With the win, Temple climbed to 5-1, and Cal dropped to 1-3. Temple placed third in the Legends Classic, and now they will go on a short break until next Tuesday, where they will travel to play Missouri.