Well, that was pretty rough to watch.
Temple closed out the game on an 8-0 run that spanned nearly seven minutes to defeat George Washington 55-53. The Owls took the lead with a pair of Khalif Wyatt free throws with 2:03 remaining and, with the benefit of poor decisions by a young GW team and some questionable officiating, were able to pick up their second win in the Atlantic 10.
Wyatt led all scorers with 18 points on 5 of 18 shooting.
Jake O’Brien earned his first start of the season in place of Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson. Dunphy said after the Saint Louis game that he would look to juggle his lineup a bit and this was the result. O’Brien play 25 minutes and scored 10 points, including five straight that ignited Temple’s game-clinching run.
Much like Scootie Randall did when Quenton DeCosey started in his place against the Billikens, Hollis-Jefferson still saw plenty of time off the bench. He grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, scored seven points, block two shots, grabbed two steals and handed out an assist.
The Owls once again shot poorly from beyond the arc, going 4 for 17 collectively. Wyatt was 2 of 9 from distance while Dalton Pepper went 1 for 4. O’Brien went 1 for 2 while Randall and Will Cummings both missed their only three-point tries.
Temple committed 12 turnovers for the second game in a row and was out-rebounded 32-25. GW’s bench outscored Temple’s 24-12.
The best part about this game is the fact that it’s over. The Cherry and White will return to action on Saturday afternoon when they take on St. Bonaventure at the Liacouras Center. The defending A10 Champion Bonnies are losers of six straight after dropping a 66-64 decision to Xavier tonight in Olean.
