Memphis bounced back from Sunday’s loss with a two-point win over Temple, but it wasn’t easy. The Owls went on a 12-4 run to end the game, but missed a game-tying shot with seconds remaining in regulation, allowing the Tigers to return to .500 with a 55-53 victory.
Prior to Wednesday’s game, Julius Thedford and Thierno Sylla were both listed as out on the conference’s player availability report. It’s the fourth game that Thedford has missed this season, and the fourth game in a row that Sylla has missed with a shoulder injury.
Penny Hardaway rolled out another new lineup Wednesday night, inserting Quante Berry and Curtis Givens III into the starting five. It’s only the second game Berry, who played the last two seasons at Temple, has started this season after seeing limited minutes throughout the year.
Berry finished with five points, on 1-for-7 shooting, two rebounds, a block and an assist in 24 minutes.
Neither team could get much going early in the game, and the Owls led 6-2 at the under-16 media timeout. After the break, the two teams traded baskets before Memphis went on a 15-4 run over a five-minute span.
The run gave Hardaway’s team an eight-point lead, but the Tigers lost Aaron Bradshaw, who went down with an injury with 7:51 left in the first half. After grabbing his right leg on the baseline, Bradshaw returned to the bench with crutches and a walking boot.
Bradshaw was playing well before the injury and recorded six points, three rebounds and a block in 10 minutes of action.
Memphis led by seven points at the break, and they continued to build on that lead in the second half. After a little back-and-forth to start the half, the Tigers went on a 9-0 run to make it a 13-point game with 12:25 remaining in the game.
Just a few minutes later, Temple responded with an 8-0 run to make it a two-point game. Once the Owls made it a two-point game, the final few minutes were sloppy, with the two teams combining for seven turnovers and four field goals over the final seven minutes of the game.
Gavin Griffiths made it a two-point game with 40 seconds left, and after a traveling violation by Ashton Hardaway, Temple had an opportunity to tie or take the lead with 13 seconds left in regulation. Jordan Mason missed a pull-up jump shot, and the Tigers recorded the rebound and the win.
As a team, the Tigers shot 33.9 percent from the field, 25 percent from deep and 60 percent from the free-throw line, and 10 players recorded points. Only two players finished in double figures, and Chris Givens III led the team with 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting.
Sincere Parker added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench, while Dug McDaniel finished the game with five points, nine rebounds and four assists.
The Tigers only turned the ball over 11 times and held the Owls to two points off turnovers. Memphis also scored 26 points in the paint and 12 second-chance points on 11 offensive rebounds.
While Hardaway’s team finished with double-digit offensive rebounds, they lost the rebounding battle 41-to-35.
On the other side, Temple shot 34 percent from the field and 10.5 percent from three, its worst shooting performance of the season. The Owls entered the game averaging only 8.8 turnovers per game, but the Tigers did a great job and forced 14 turnovers Wednesday night.
Memphis turned those miscues into 14 points off turnovers.
Three Owls finished in double figures, and Griffiths led the team with 15 points, despite going 1-for-8 from three-point range.
With the win, the Tigers improved to 3-1 in conference play, and they’ll return to action Sunday against UTSA. The Roadrunners are 4-13 on the season and lost to Rice by 16 points at home Wednesday night.