Temple holds off Hofstra, 81-76
By JACOB MORENO
PHILADELPHIA – Temple couldn’t escape Hofstra for nearly 30 minutes Wednesday night. Neither team could create an advantage worth more than five points in the first half as the Owls’ offense came in bunches.
Then, Gavin Griffiths happened.
Facing a two-point deficit in the second half, Griffis launched a spot-up three for one of 16 lead changes. But this time, it stuck. The guard delivered another three two minutes later to give the Owls a four-point edge it never gave up.
Temple handled Hofstra 81-76 at The Liacouras Center Wednesday night. The Owls shot 24-for-31 from the foul line, with 20 attempts coming in the second half.
“I think we found a way, and that’s something we talk about all the time,” head coach Adam Fisher said. “When things aren’t going your way or things are a little out of character, you gotta figure out a way to win, and I thought this group did it. So proud of these guys.”
Guard Aiden Tobiason led Temple (3-1) in scoring with 21 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field. He found success from all three levels, shooting 3-for-6 from three-point range and 8-for-8 from the foul line.
The scoring didn’t end with Tobiason, as guard Derrian Ford wasn’t far behind with 20 points, 11 of which came from free throws. It marked his fourth consecutive game where he finished in double-digit scoring.
Temple collectively shot 50% from the field and recorded 11 assists on 25 made shots.
The Owls struck first as Griffiths attacked a closeout en route to an uncontested layup. But, Hofstra (2-3) guard Biggie Patterson promptly erased that advantage. He scored eight points less than five minutes into the game to create a 10-7 lead. Temple struggled to contain the guard off the dribble, which allowed him to find his spots from beyond the arc and midrange.
After shooting 34.3% from the field in their loss to Boston College Saturday, the Owls appeared more organized. Temple’s offensive process primarily revolved around pick-and-rolls, most of which point guard Jordan Mason conducted.
Tobiason and Ford converted on three-pointers as a result of the Owls’ increased ball movement, but the Pride remained ahead 21-17 midway into the first half.
Forward Jamai Felt subbed in for center Mohamed Keita with less than 13 minutes remaining before intermission, and for good reason. He recorded eight points on 4-for-4 shooting from the field in 12 minutes, thriving as a cutter.
Felt has seen the floor the first half in two consecutive games after playing four inconsequential second-half minutes in Temple’s win against La Salle on Nov. 11.
“I’m feeling great,” Felt said. “I was just really focusing on getting stops and getting rebounds, so we can push the ball and keep on everything we’re doing to win games.”
The Owls’ offense hit a wall, enduring a two-minute scoring drought that allowed the Pride to extend their lead to 24-19 with less than eight minutes left in the half. Hofstra scored 12 of its points in the paint as Temple failed to apply adequate pressure defending the point of attack.
That’s something that the Owls were content with, however.
Temple held guards Preston Edmead and Cruz Davis – Hofstra’s two leading scorers – to a combined 4-for-12 shooting from the field in the first half. The Owls deployed a mix of pick-and-roll blitzes and fighting through screens to force the ball out of their hands.
Temple’s offense reawakened when Tobiason used a screen from forward Babatunde Durodola to make a pull-up three as his defender went under. The sophomore was the first Owl to eclipse 10 points as Temple took a 27-24 lead with less than six minutes left until each team ventured into the locker room.
The Owls held the Pride scoreless in the last two minutes of the half as they struggled to create offense with their two premier scorers contained. Temple forced four of its six first-half turnovers in the last five minutes, including a steal from guard AJ Smith that led to a Ford transition layup to level the score at 31. The Owls then squeaked to a 33-31 halftime lead after Mason knocked down a baseline fallaway as the buzzer sounded.
Tobiason built upon the Owls’ newfound momentum – scoring seven of their first 10 points in the second half. The guard found success drawing contact off the dribble and creating from the perimeter. Boston College held Tobiason to 4-of-17 shooting from the field as he struggled to create offense, but his decision-making was more precise Wednesday night.
“I can’t harp on the past. That’s a big thing,” Tobiason said. “Coach was just telling me you’re gonna have a bad game, and I understood that. And I just moved on; new gameplan, new team. Just preparing to play my game.”
A putback layup from Durodola on his first shot attempt of the night gave the Owls a 45-41 advantage less than five minutes into the second half. He scored six of his seven points in the last 20 minutes as his aggressiveness increased.
The Owls’ offense once again sputtered as the Pride launched a 9-2 run to take a 55-53 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game. Davis began to heat up, posting 20 of his 25 points in the second half as Hofstra diversified his usage on and off the ball.
Each offense began to fizzle out as both sides endured two-minute scoring droughts.
Temple went away from the ball movement it displayed in the first half, but found relief in Griffiths. The guard halted the Owls’ scoring woes when he recorded that spot-up three off Tobiason’s dribble penetration. He knocked down the other two minutes later off Ford’s assist.
Griffiths’ spacing unlocked more room for the Owls to operate and gave the Pride little incentive to provide on-ball help.
Temple connected on three consecutive field goals to take a 66-58 advantage – its largest of the night – with less than five minutes left in regulation. The Owls kept the Pride at arm’s length by containing their ball-handlers and adequately closing out on shooters. Hofstra misfired on eight of its nine shots in this stretch.
Just when Temple positioned itself to cruise to victory, it suffered a three-minute scoreless stretch. The Owls’ cold spell allowed the Pride to pierce the deficit to two points after making their last three shot attempts with just above two minutes remaining in the game.
Mason’s shotmaking guided Temple – scoring four points in a minute stretch to give Temple a four-point cushion in the closing minutes. While Tobiason and Ford shouldered the scoring, combining for 41 points, it was Mason’s steadiness that kept them composed down the stretch.
“[Mason has] a high IQ,” Fisher said. “He was great. I asked him at halftime, ‘What do you like?’ and we went to something that he suggested at halftime. [Mason said], ‘Hey, I saw this, we ran it.’ We were able to score out of it, so I think having that trust in that dialogue with him, he knows. Hey, we’re here, we got you. But he’s been fantastic in another great game.”
Davis continued to exploit the Owls’ single coverage with shots from all around the court to cut their lead to 77-75 with 14.6 seconds remaining. Hofstra played the foul game in a desperate comeback attempt, but Tobiason iced the game, nailing a pair of free throws to give Temple its third win of the season.
