Fresh off its biggest win of the season against Memphis, Temple looked to continue its momentum Sunday against Tulane, but it was not easy by any means.
Temple could not seem to find a way to pull away from the Green Wave at the Liacouras Center. After a Shane Dezonie turnover with 17 seconds left, Tulane guard Rowan Brumbaugh had a chance to tie the score and send the game to overtime, but the shot rimmed out. Temple held on to post an 80-77 win for its third straight victory.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored a career-high 32 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the field for the Owls (12-6, 4-1 American Athletic Conference). Dezonie scored 13 points while Zion Stanford and Steve Settle III added 11 apiece. Brumbaugh led the way for the Green Wave (10-9, 4-2) with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
“I like our togetherness,” Temple coach Adam Fisher said. “We continue to protect home court, which was big for us. I think we’re getting a lot better in a lot of areas every game. There’s some things we got to clean up from today, there’s some things we had to clean up after Memphis, but we’ve done a really good job of preparing the guys for what they’re going to see.”
Mashburn dazzles
Mashburn is averaging 21.3 points per game, which puts him second in the AAC in scoring. The senior guard has had his fair share of struggles when it comes to shooting efficiently, but he didn’t have that problem against Tulane. Mashburn shot 75% from the field, including a long jump shot that put the Owls up by five with less than a minute remaining.
“He’s just a calming presence,” Fisher said. “He never gets too high and never gets too low. We allow him to play his game, and he has the confidence. He’s just fantastic. His leadership, his poise, just really a steady hand throughout the game.”
Paint performance
Temple outrebounded the Green Wave, 33-20. Tulane had just eight offensive rebounds while Temple had 12. The Owls also found ways to score inside. Temple finished with 36 of its 80 points in the paint.
Settle and fellow forward Babatunde Durodola played a big role in the Owls’ success on the boards. Durodola had six points and six rebounds, while Settle finished with four rebounds. Both of them were strong presences down low and played well in the absence of forward Elijah Gray, who is recovering from a hamstring injury.
Up next
The Owls will head to Denton, Texas, to take on North Texas (13-4, 4-1) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. (ESPN+).