Men’s Basketball Scoreboard (Feb. 28)
Temple 83, Detroit 78
Leading by three in the waning minutes of play, Detroit was stunned by Temple, 83-78, at the Liacouras Center on Thursday.
Detroit (19-11) held a five-point lead with 2:55 to play and was up 74-71 with 1:47 remaining, holding possession of the ball. However, the Titans’ inbound pass was stolen in the backcourt, and Khalif Wyatt banked in the game-tying three with 1:42 to play.
On the Titans’ next possession, Doug Anderson’s jumper from the top of the key was short, and Wyatt hit his second consecutive three to put Temple (20-8) up, 77-74. Ray McCallum’s game-tying attempt was short as well and two more Wyatt free throws extended the lead to five.
McCallum would get to the rim and have a chance at a three-point play with 16 seconds remaining, but after missing the free throw, Wyatt would hit two more free throws to seal the result.
McCallum finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists to lead the Titans, while classmate Jason Calliste had 19 points and Doug Anderson pitched in 17. Senior Nick Minnerath finished with 15 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds.
With Evan Bruinsma starting for the third straight game, the Titans received just two points off their bench, with five players coming off the bench to play 21 total minutes.
Temple scored the first four points of the game, before the Titans responded with a 10-4 run to take a 10-8 lead into the first timeout. Detroit then extend its lead to nine 17-8 with a 7-0 run, which forced Temple to call a timeout. The Owls responded with a 10-4 run to trim the lead to 21-18 with just under eight minutes remaining, but that was as close as the score would get in the first half as the Titans responded with an 8-0 run, including a Sports Center top-10 highlight dunk from Anderson, to build a 29-18 lead with less the seven minutes left.
Detroit would carry its 11 point lead for the next four minutes, until Temple closed the half with a 6-3 run to make the score 37-31 at break. Calliste led Detroit with 12 points, while Anderson and Minnerath each had 10.
Wyatt finished with 20 in the game to lead Temple after Detroit held him scoreless in the first half. Scootie Randall had 18 for the Owls, while Jake O’Brien added 16 off the bench and Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson 13.
Detroit will close the regular season at UIC on Saturday, March 2. The game will tip at 2 p.m. EST, with HLN providing live coverage.
Tags: Detroit Mercy - Men's Basketball
