Temple Can’t Complete 20-Point Comeback in Home Loss to Charleston

PHILADELPHIA — Temple Men’s Basketball trailed by as much as 20 points in the first half of their Wednesday, Nov. 11 home date with the College of Charleston and, although the Owls (1-2) closed within a basket on three separate occasions in the second half, they never managed to find the tying basket in a 91-81 loss.

Charleston made 13 of 17 shots from two-point range in the first half, surging ahead with 12-2 and 14-0 runs in a rehash of Temple’s Nov. 8 loss to Richmond. The Owls went more than three minutes without a shot attempted during Charleston’s first run, turning the ball over on three consecutive possessions.

Cougars guard Tavari Johnson (32 points) outscored the Owls for much of the first half and, although Temple managed to keep pace with Charleston outside of those runs, they made just 11 of 35 shots from the field and one of nine three-point tries. Derrian Ford (18 points), who led the Owls in minutes against Richmond despite coming off the bench, made his first start of the season after dealing with an injury during Temple’s exhibition games.

A 13-0 run early in the second half cut Charleston’s lead to 54-48, and Temple forced shot clock violations on consecutive possessions to pull within a possession with a 7-0 run. Cam Scott powered the comeback with 19 points in the second half and 26 overall; Deuce Drake added eight off the bench in the final 20 minutes. Each time the Owls closed within a basket, however, the Cougars managed to find an answer.

Up next, Temple will open their Big 5 pod play schedule at La Salle at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15.