Tom Reifsnyder (@tom_reifsnyder)
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In basketball, and in most other cases, it’s best to finish what you’ve started.
Jesse Morgan (above) scored 15 of his season-high 20 points in the first half to pace the Owls on Sunday. (Photo: Mark Jordan)
The Temple Owls, a 1-seed, did just that as they defeated 5-seed George Washington in a wire-to-wire 90-77 victory at the Liacouras Center in an early Sunday second-round NIT matchup.
With the win, Temple improves to 15-2 on their home floor, which marks a new high for most single-season wins at the Liacouras Center.
Temple’s guard-play dominated the game as Will Cummings (21), Jesse Morgan (20) and Devin Coleman (13) each scored in double-figures to pace the Owls.
Cummings, a senior, continues to play with a noticeable chip on his shoulder since being snubbed from the NCAA Tournament last Sunday.
“I think I’m just still mad,” Cummings said. “I’m just trying to keep playing basketball. Anything it takes to keep playing basketball, that’s really what I’m focused on doing.”
Sophomore guard Kethan Savage and junior forward Kevin Larsen did their best to keep George Washington afloat, as they scored 25 and 19 respectively, but their efforts weren’t quite good enough to catch the Owls.
Hampered by foul trouble, leading scorer Patricio Garino (12.5 ppg) did very little to help the Colonials’ cause as he scored just nine points on 3-of-6 shooting.
“Disappointing because today was like our season,” George Washington head coach Mike Lonergan said. “Kethan really played well offensively today, Kevin played pretty well and then a couple other guys had really rough games.
“So, lack of consistency has been a theme of our season, but you got to give Temple credit.”
As play began at the Liacouras Center, the pre-noon tip seemed to solely affect George Washington as the Owls jumped out to an early 9-0 lead just over three minutes into the game.
Morgan was practically unflappable in the first half as he dropped in three of his first six three-point attempts to score 15 of his season-high 20 points.
“To play back home in Philly in front of your friends and family, play with some terrific guys like Will, Jaylen [Bond], Dev…you know, it’s just a tremendous feeling to be out here and playing again after sitting out for so long,” Morgan said. “It’s something you can’t describe.”
After scoring 11 of the Owls’ first 20 points, Morgan went silent for 10 straight minutes, giving the Colonials a chance to mount a comeback, which they did.
Larsen paced George Washington with 10 points and four rebounds (three offensive) in the first half. The 6-foot-10 Copenhagen, Denmark native had his hands full with rebound-happy Bond who pulled down 11 boards through 20 minutes of action; he would finish with a game-high 15 on the glass.
“He’s the reason why we are where we are numbers-wise, I think, from last year to this year,” Temple coach Fran Dunphy said of Bond. “He’s so terrific rebounding the ball; he’s so quick to the ball and he’s got great hands as well. So it’s nice to see that number posted on the boards for sure.”
Trailing by 10 points with two minutes until halftime, the Colonials used back-to-back treys from Savage and Yuta Watanabe to trim the Owls’ lead to just six points.
A 2-of-3 trip at the line from Quenton DeCosey, his only points of the game, would give Temple a 38-30 advantage at the half.
The first 10 minutes of the second frame were essentially a push as the Owls traded buckets and stops with the Colonials, but managed to keep them at bay.
Devin Coleman (above) scored all 13 of his points in the second half to finish off George Washington on Sunday. (Photo: Mark Jordan)
Morgan was nowhere to be found in the second half as he played just eight minutes and scored five points, but there was a good reason for his absence.
“The microwave right here man,” Morgan said as he motioned towards Coleman at the postgame presser. “He sparked it up.”
After Watanabe’s third trey of the game put the Colonials within striking distance, Coleman came alive for the Owls.
The sophomore transfer from Clemson scored seven straight, including a three from the wing, to give Temple a 12-point lead with under eight minutes to play.
But Coleman, who averages just 3.5 points per game, wasn’t finished.
He would score another two buckets to give the Owls a 74-59 lead with just over five minutes remaining, good for 11 of Temple’s last 15 points.
“It was nothing I did different or anything like that; it was just they started to pressure us a little bit so the game kind of opened up,” Coleman said of his scoring outburst. “There was a lot of open floor space, a lot of open spots on the floor to get shots and I just knocked some down when I got the chance.”
Sophomore guard Josh Brown also scored in double-figures for the Owls as he finished with 11. Watanabe, a freshman forward, knocked down four threes and scored 15 for the Colonials.
In the quarterfinals, the Owls will be back to the Liacouras Center on Wednesday to play either 3-seed Louisiana Tech or 2-seed Texas A&M, who will face off on Monday, March 23.
