White’s double-double leads No. 12 Houston past Temple 66-61
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Fabian White Jr. had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Jamal Shead scored 14 points to lead depleted No. 12 Houston past Temple 66-61 on Sunday night.
Houston (12-2, 1-0 American Athletic Conference) had 10 players available and only seven played, which was enough against Temple (7-6, 1-1 AAC), but certainly won’t sustain the team through the meat of AAC schedule. Coach Kelvin Sampson was forced to use grad assistants and managers in practice over the last week with so many players out with injuries or in COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Damian Dunn scored 14 points and Nick Jourdain had 12 for Temple, which made a run at an upset; FanDuel Sportsbook had the Cougars as 16½-point favorites on the road.
Jahlil White buried a 3 that pulled the Owls to 57-54 with 6 minutes left and Jourdain followed with Temple’s 10th 3-pointer to make it 59-57 with 3:53 left in the game.
Houston’s Ramon Walker Jr., buried a 3 in front of his own bench as the shot clock expired to keep the Owls at bay.
The Owls also took advantage of Houston’s miserable 3-point shooting (4 of 22) to hang tight at home.
The Liacouras Center was nearly empty on Sunday, with a number of factors perhaps the reason, like Temple’s winter break, concerns over COVID-19 or years of lackluster basketball. But the small, dedicated crowd stood and cheered when Jeremiah Williams turned a steal into a fastbreak layup that pulled Temple to 42-41.
A second straight Final Four might be improbable for the Cougars without a healthy roster considering guard Kyler Edwards sat out with a sprained ankle, Marcus Sasser will miss the rest of the season after a recent surgery on his left foot and Tramon Mark also having season-ending surgery on his shoulder.
BIG PICTURE
Houston: The Cougars are still the class of the AAC but can’t afford any more injuries if they want to make a run in the NCAA tournament.
Temple: The Owls are still looking for a breakout year in coach Aaron McKie’s third season. Once the pride of Philadelphia under late Hall of Fame coach John Chaney, Temple has not defeated a Top 25 team in two years and hasn’t been ranked in 10. With Houston hurting, this was Temple’s chance to get a signature conference win but instead the Owls lost to Houston for the fifth straight time.
WELCOME BACK
The Cougars’ AAC home opener with Cincinnati postponed on Dec. 28, while the Owls’ Big 5 game at No. 22 Villanova was postponed on Dec. 29.
UP NEXT
Houston: Plays at South Florida on Wednesday.
Temple: Plays at UCF on Wednesday.
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