Temple bows out of AAC tournament’s second round with 75-71 loss to Tulsa

FORT WORTH, Texas — Before the game’s final minute, Temple was always just one shot away.

One shot away from reclaiming the lead it had held for much of the game. One shot from going on another big run.

But, exactly one year after beginning an improbable run of four wins in as many days, the magic ran out.

No. 10 seed Tulsa, which lost to Temple just nine days ago, made 55.6% of its second-half shots and upset seventh-seeded Temple, 75-71, in the second round of the American Athletic Conference tournament on Thursday at Dickies Arena. Tulsa (13-19) advances to play No. 2 seed North Texas on Friday.

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Temple had its three-game winning streak snapped, but you likely wouldn’t have guessed the result by the comfortable first half.

The only two shots from the floor Steve Settle III missed in the first half were from three, and Temple (17-15) shot 46.3% from distance in the first half. Settle finished with a game-high 22 points on 6-for-11 shooting with six rebounds.

Settle, Zion Stanford, and Shane Dezonie powered a 12-2 run that turned a tight contest into a cruise control for the Owls, at least for the first half. That run lasted 2 minutes, 41 seconds and left Temple with an 11-point lead with 4:10 left in the first. It wouldn’t be enough.

Temple, which took a 12-point lead into the halftime locker room, simply couldn’t connect in the second half. Particularly stark was the lack of shooting from three, as the Owls, who entered the game as the No. 2 three-point shooting team in the AAC, missed all 10 attempts in the second half and shot 24.1% overall in the period. For the game, Temple shot 38.2% from the floor and missed 11 of their 34 free-throw attempts.

That 67.6% mark was jarring from a team that entered Thursday averaging the third-most free throws made per game (19.4) in Division I on fourth-most attempts per game (26.3) for a nearly 74% clip.

“I think we played hard and physical,” Temple coach Adam Fisher said. “I think we’re top five in the country in getting to the foul line. So we did what we wanted. We just had to make the ones when we got there, and you’re not going to make all [34], but you hope to make a little bit better percentage. Then defensively for us, again, we had to manage some fouls, but, again, great credit to [Tulsa]. They were the tougher team in that second half.”

The Owls made just two of their first eight shots in the second half as the Golden Hurricane whipped into action. Tulsa got as close as one point, but a layup by Elijah Gray, which marked Temple’s first bucket from the floor in 5½ minutes, stretched the lead to 57-54 with 8:23 to go. The momentum didn’t last, though, as Tulsa kept chipping away and reclaimed the lead on a Keaston Willis three with 4:31 left. It was the Golden Hurricane’s first lead since the 9:18 mark of the first half.

Settle led the Owls statistically, but he had plenty of help, particularly from Stanford and Dezonie. Like Settle, they were key pieces for Temple’s improbable run to the AAC title game last year. Unfazed by the pressure-packed, if not full, confines of Dickies Arena, they added 17 and 10 points, respectively. Stanford, a sophomore out of West Catholic, added seven rebounds and five assists.

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For Tulsa, Jared Garcia scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half, while Dwon Odom (14 points) and Willis (11 points) also finished in double figures.

Temple was without leading scorer Jamal Mashburn Jr. (lower body) and another starter in Quante Berry (finger). Junior center Mohamed Keita, coincidentally a Tulsa transfer, went down with an apparent knee injury and had to be helped off the court with about 8½ minutes left in the first half. He did not return, which dealt a further blow to the Owls’ depth. Fisher admitted that while Mashburn has been working out and remains day-to-day, he was unaware of Berry’s injury until Thursday’s shootaround.

“I think it’s been our season, right?” Fisher said. “You start the season with 16 guys, three walk-ons, 13 scholarship guys, and as the season kept going on, we had to reinvent ourselves with some injuries, and then even today being more limited. And I thought Shane really guarded. He’s a senior. He’s been a great part of our program. He’s been here three years. Odom’s a really good player, man. Like, he’s tough. He can get in the paint, he’s top in assists. Like, he’s a really good player and he got to his spots tonight.”