Temple outlasts Charlotte, 76-73, to win its American Conference opener
Jordan Mason’s season-high 18 points and balanced scoring from his starting backcourt mates helped Temple fend off a late Charlotte rally in the Owls’ 76-73 win over the 49ers Tuesday night at Halton Arena.
In winning its American Conference opener, as well as its fifth game in a row, Temple (9-5) got double-figure scoring from Derrian Ford (17 points), Aiden Tobiason (15 points) and Gavin Griffiths, who also led the team with seven rebounds to go with two assists, two steals, two blocks and just one turnover in 32 minutes.
Ford, the Owls’ leading scorer at 17.7 points per game, left the floor with 3:03 to go after he collided with Charlotte center Anton Bonke. Ford, who shot 6-for-7 from the free-throw line and grabbed five rebounds, got called for a blocking foul on the play and bore the brunt of the contact from the 7-foot-2 Bonke, a Providence transfer who paced Charlotte (6-7) with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Temple jumped out to its largest lead of the game at 34-22 with three minutes left in the first half when Tobiason found freshman forward Ayuba Bryant for a layup. Bryant and sophomore forward Babatunde Durodola played a combined 28 minutes off the bench on a night when starting forward Jamai Felt picked up two early fouls and scored just two points in nine minutes.
Charlotte, which cut Temple’s lead to six by halftime, nearly erased an eight-point Owls lead inside the game’s last 47 seconds thanks to consecutive three-pointers by South Carolina transfer Arden Conyers that were sandwiched around a Tobiason turnover. Conyers’ second three, a deep contested shot over Tobiason well beyond the top of the key, made it a 75-73 game with 16 seconds left.
After Mason hit just 1 of his 2 foul shots with 14 seconds to put Temple ahead by three, the Owls didn’t foul and Conyers was able to get another clean look at a three, but he put too much on the shot and missed long as freshman guard Cam Wallace grabbed the rebound for Temple and got fouled.
Wallace missed both free throws with two seconds left, but Charlotte couldn’t get set up for a close enough look to tie the game as the Owls escaped with the win.
If Temple can win its next two games at home, starting Saturday against a 4-8 UTSA team before hosting a 5-8 East Carolina squad four days later, the Owls would be headed to their Jan. 14 road game at Memphis at 3-0 in conference play, although it remains to be seen if Temple will have Ford back in time for Saturday. The Owls are already playing without two guards they were counting upon for key backcourt minutes this season in CJ Hines and AJ Smith, both of whom remain out indefinitely.
Hines, a transfer who averaged 14.1 points and shot 38% from three last season, has yet to play this season because the NCAA is reviewing an eligibility issue pertaining to his time at Alabama State, and Smith has missed Temple’s last six games with a shoulder injury.
