It hasn’t really mattered much who Temple’s opponent is this season. If the Owls are playing, it’s usually going to be a close game.
Temple has played 12 games so far this season, and 10 of those games have been decided by nine points or fewer. The only exceptions are a 20-point win against Manhattan and a 20-point loss to Villanova.
That was the case again on Saturday at the Liacouras Center, when the Owls held off a comeback attempt by the New Jersey Institute of Technology to pick up a 68-63 win (see Instant Replay).
“I’d love to get some space between us and them, but we’re an interesting group,” Temple head coach Fran Dunphy said. “We found a way to have some success in close games. I would love to continue to do so. We have a great challenge again on Thursday and we start our league coming up with some really good basketball teams.”
The Owls’ largest lead on Saturday was nine points. However, as soon as Temple built a 56-47 lead with 5:47 left, NJIT went on an 11-2 run to tie the game at 58. Temple went back up by five points with just fewer than two minutes left, but the Highlanders tied the game a minute later.
Sophomore guard Shizz Alston, Jr. who had 10 points on four assists against NJIT, made a layup with 47.1 seconds left to help the Owls survive the scare.
Dunphy’s team plays Yale on Thursday, which is Temple's final game before conference play starts on Dec. 28 against Cincinnati.
“Early on, these wins they’ve been tough close wins and I think it’s preparing us for when we meet Cincinnati and Yale and ECU, whoever we play,” redshirt-senior swingman Daniel Dingle said. “It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be a war every time we step on the court and we would like to spread the margin but these close games are helping us grow, maturing quickly and learn how to close games no matter what team we play.”
Some of the Owls’ close games have been due to their inconsistent offensive performances. Heading into Saturday’s game, Temple ranked No. 229 in Division I in field goal percentage, making 43.3 percent of its shots.
The Owls shot 41.8 percent from the field against NJIT. The team went 2 of 10 from three-point range in the first half before making 5 of 8 attempts in the second half.
Temple’s offense got a boost from 13 fast break points. Junior forward Obi Enechionyia was 0 for 3 from the field before two fast break alley oops from Alston. Enechionyia made five of his last eight shot attempts to finish with 13 points.
“It might be the most athletic team I’ve been on since I’ve been here,” said Dingle, who’s been at Temple for five years. “So I think we can do a better job of pushing the tempo, and having the other team on their heels.”