Temple outlasts George Mason 94-85 in overtime to win season opener

PHILADELPHIA — Tristen Taylor led six Temple players in double figures with 19 points as the Owls outlasted George Mason 94-85 in overtime Monday night in the team’s season opener at the Liacouras Center. 

Temple beat the reigning Atlantic 10 champions by getting contributions from all over the roster, perhaps none bigger than that of forward Saniyah Craig. A 6-foot-1 transfer who set Jacksonville’s single-season rebounding record last season, Craig posted a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds, shooting 5-for-7 from the field and 6-for-8 from the line. 

With Craig’s help, Temple outrebounded George Mason by 47-43 and scored 19 second-chance points. 

“They brought me here for one reason. That’s to rebound and help the team,” said Craig, who wears No. 91 in honor of former NBA champion Dennis Rodman, “and that’s what I did.”

“Not one reason,” Temple head coach Diane Richardson said to a room full of laughter in response to Craig’s answer.

Richardson went 11 players deep into her bench, with nine of those 11 players logging double-digit minutes. Drew Alexander scored all 13 of her points in the first half, with 11 coming in the second quarter, while guard Kaylah Turner and Jaleesa Molina added 12 points apiece. Sophomore guard Kelian Cedano added 10 points off the bench, including eight in the second half and the Owls’ first field goal in overtime. 

“Our staff did a great job (in the offseason) of filling those holes to give us depth,” Richardson said, “and you’ll notice that we wanted to beef up our front court as well with rebounding, obviously. But it felt really good to be able to go to the bench and have that depth, that depth that we wanted, and we did play everybody, so that was a plus for us.”

The Owls survived a career-high 31 points from George Mason’s Zahira Walton, who earned a litany of honors last season in the A-10 as a sophomore, including first team all-conference, all-defensive team and the most outstanding player in the A-10 Tournament. 

Turner had a chance with 20.4 seconds left in regulation to give Temple a four-point lead, but she missed both of her free-throw attempts. The Owls had another opportunity to potentially close out the game on the ensuing possession when Craig swiped the ball from Walton, but George Mason’s Maliyah Johnson converged on Craig to draw a held ball call, with the possession arrow favoring the Patriots. 

Richardson pleaded with the officials that she was calling a timeout from the bench, but she was not granted one. 

Instead, George Mason kept the ball, and Walton tied the game at 74-74 when she put back a Page Greenburg miss with six seconds left in regulation. Walton had gone scoreless in the fourth quarter until 2:05 remained in the period before she finished it out with six points. 

Temple had a chance to win the game in regulation with 5.5 seconds left. On that last possession, Turner missed a jumper and Craig grabbed the rebound but didn’t get the shot off in time.

Temple scored the first four points of overtime and never looked back, outscoring George Mason 20-11 in the extra period. 

Temple trailed by as many as 11 points at 34-23 in the second quarter before closing out the first half on a 15-5 run. The Owls shot 52% (16-for-31) through the first two quarters, but 12 first-half turnovers, including five from Taylor, helped give way to 13 George Mason points. The Patriots wound up with 21 points off 20 Temple turnovers.

But after her five miscues in the first half, Taylor committed just one more turnover the rest of the way. 

“I think it was just … I wouldn’t even say nerves,” Taylor, who shot 11-for-12 from the free-throw line, said of her early turnovers. “I was just anxious to play, but then I just slowed down in the second half and just played my game.”

“Because I know,” Taylor added with a smile, “a lot of turnovers.”

Temple will play again in four days when it hosts another A-10 opponent, George Washington, at the Liacouras Center Friday night at 7 p.m.