By: Devin Fonrose
As TUMBB were ongoing with their winning streak game by game, the Temple Owls faced off against the top ranked Virginia Commonwealth Rams in a “Senior Day” Sunday matchup finale to complete that streak. This game was significant to secure a decent spot in the upcoming A-10 conference tournament beginning at the end of the week. VCU was not an easy task for the Owls, as they started off strong. The Rams began with a 10-2 run late in the first half, which put Temple in a 16-point deficit down 36-20. The Owls pushed their way back toward the end of the 1st half, cutting the deficit down to 5, as VCU led at halftime 41-36.
Later, as the second half began, Khalif Wyatt and the rest of the Owls started to contribute and take over this game. The defense had finally picked up and on the offensive side, shots started to fall, including consecutive threes by Khalif Wyatt and Scootie Randall. This had given the Owls a 12-point lead with the score of 68-56 and at least 6 minutes left in the second half, trotting back from the deficit of the first half. With the game falling in Temple’s hands, they extended the score even more while nearing the final minutes of the game with a 78-61 lead. However, VCU’s Melvin Johnson hit consecutive threes as well but it wasn’t enough to comeback resulting in a final score of 84-76. Khalif Wyatt finished scoring another game-high of 30 points, adding on to his 4 steals. He wasn’t the only one that added to this “senior day” win, with Jake O’Brien including his 19 points as well, and Scootie with 13 points and his game-high 9 rebounds.
The Temple Owls now end their season on a good note with a key win, securing a 3 seed for the Atlantic Ten Conference tournament taking place at the Barclays Center.This win adds on their regular season record of 23-8, being 12-3 toward non-conference teams, and 11-5 against A-10 conference teams. Khalif Wyatt, starting senior guard, has also recently been named A-10 player of the year, which has not been given to a Temple player since 2000. Wyatt has contributed at least 600 points and hopes to add more toward the A-10 tournament and maybe even the NCAA tournament. There’s no doubt in mind these Owls are favorites for the Atlantic 10 conference tournament and huge underdogs for the upcoming March Madness.
THE EXCLUSIVE 