Late run by Temple is not enough as Owls fall to Boston College

Adam Mack
10 hours ago
2 min read

Boston College (2-2) defeated Temple (2-1) 76-71 at the Liacouras Center. Donald Hand Jr. led the Eagles with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

How it happened

Boston College started the game with Fred Payne going 3/3 from 3 point range. With Donald Hand Jr. being able to work the boards on both offense and defense, it helped Boston College get off to a hot start.

Temple struggled shooting throughout the 1st half. Shooting 30% from the floor and failed to make a 3 point shot the entire 1st half (0-8). The one positive shooting for Temple in the 1st half was they went 12-14 from the free throw line. Their two leading scorers went a combined 2-13 in the 1st half.

Boston College throughout the 1st half picked apart the Temple’s zone defense. They had a 40% field goal percentage and are 35% from 3 point range. They needed to improve on their offensive performance from Tuesday night.

Boston College defense held Temple scoreless over the last 2 and a half minutes to take a 5 point lead at half.

The 2nd half started similar to the 1st half. Temple began the 2nd half shooting 40%, while Boston College shot 30% to start the 2nd half. The domination of both team’s defense continued. Hand Jr. continued to have a great game defensively. He had 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block to start the 2nd half. Temple struggled to find a response for him all game long.

Temple’s Derrain Ford started the 2nd half on a hot start. He was 3/3 with 9 points. Aiden Tobiason hit the team’s first 3 pointer with 11:19 left in the 1st half. Temple's offensive struggles continued throughout the 2nd half.

Down as much as 13, Temple was not ready to quit just yet. With 3 minutes left, Gavin Griffiths hit a pair of 3 pointers and a big block to cut the Eagles lead to 7. Even with the score as close as 4 points and another big 3 for Griffiths, Boston College was able to hit key free throws and hold on for the victory.

Boston College had their offensive showing of the season, shooting 44%. While Temple had their worst shooting performance while shooting 35%. Both teams had 43 rebounds Saturday afternoon, but the different shooting performance was key to the Boston College victory.