Temple Basketball holds off Jefferson in Charity Exhibition

Temple led most of the game in a ten point win over Jefferson University in a charity exhibition game Thursday night in from of its home crowd at the Liacouras Center. The Owls defeated the visiting Rams 70-60. Sophomores Quinton Rose and Alani Moore II had a game-high 13 points a piece, while senior Obi Enechionyia chipped in with 12 points and six rebounds. The Owls led by as many as 23 points late in the game as several different players contributed. Redshirt senior Josh Brown chipped in with 10 points.

It was an exciting environment in the Liacouras Center as fans were obviously eager to see the Owls playing again to kick off the 2017-2018 season. There were some ups and downs in play throughout the game as coach Fran Dunphy and his players worked to figure things out. A bonus is the Owls had 24 points off the bench. With a trio of freshman along with seven other guys working their way into the lineup, different players stepped up to find ways to contribute. This early in the season, players are still trying to figure out their roles, adjust to the guys around them, and build their on-court chemistry. Temple already has distinguished leaders in Brown and Enechionyia, who are both looking to have a strong, successful senior year. For head coach Fran Dunphy and the Owls, it should be encouraging to see young talent in sophomores Moore and Rose step up to score a team-high 13 points and Moore also grabbed a game-high three steals. Rose steps in after several All-Rookie honors and a summer playing with the U19 Men’s World Cup team. The Rochester, New York native was a great player off the bench for Temple last year. Moore is back from an impressive freshman where he averaged roughly 25 minutes and 6.6 points per game. Freshman De’Vondre Perry was the most productive for the rookies in terms of stats, as he tallied  six points and six rebounds in his 17 minutes.

Alexander Gorton and sophomore forward Josh Bradanese led the Rams with 13 points each. Gorton, the freshman Arkansas native also grabbed six rebounds.  Senior forward Yevgen Sakhniuk finished with 12 points and five rebounds.

Hopefully, for Temple, they will have the versatility and depth this season to compete in their tough schedule that includes some nationally ranked non-conference teams with their usual AAC opponents such as the University of South Carolina, who is ranked at No. 24. Some other top 50 opponents this season include Villanova (#3), Wisconsin (#36),  and AAC team Cincinnati.

Since the game was not just an exhibition game, but also a charity game, all proceeds from the game were donated to One America Appeal towards relief efforts for those affected by the recent hurricanes in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico. Proceeds include ticket sales, but also the game checks for the Exhibition matchup earned by Temple play-by-play announcer Kevin Copp and color analyst John Baum donated to the organization.

After the win over the Rams, Temple is heading back to the drawing board to watch film and prepare for their first official game against Old Dominion. The Owls travel to Charleston, South Carolina to compete in the Gildan Charleston Classic on Thursday, November 16. to play the Monarchs at 1:30 pm. The game will air on ESPN 3 and 1210 AM WPHT.