Temple's Steve Settle III had seven of his 14 points during a late run in Friday night's win over Wichita State. (Photo: Temple Athletics/Robin Hsiao)
Also, long range struggles doom Saint Joseph’s in loss at St. Louis
By AARON BRACY
January 4, 2024
PHILADELPHIA – Things didn’t look great for Temple. The Owls trailed Wichita State by four points with 8 minutes, 15 seconds remaining on Friday night at the Liacouras Center.
Two potential starters, Lynn Greer III and Jameel Brown, were in warmups, out due to personal reasons.
Two key players, Quante Berry and Shane Dezonie, were in foul trouble, with Berry sitting on three fouls and Dezonie on the bench after just being whistled for his fourth foul.
It felt like Temple was headed for a defeat in its American Athletic Conference opener against the Shockers.
But then it didn’t.
The Owls played their best 4 1/2-minute stretch of the season, a beautiful display of offensive and defensive efficiency, teamwork, hustle, skill, and more, dominating Wichita State with a 21-5 run that keyed an impressive 91-85 victory.
“I think these guys believe and trust in each other that towards the end of the game we’re going to be strong, we’re going to be ready, we’re going to communicate,” Owls coach Adam Fisher said.
Fisher loved what he saw down the game-changing stretch. Temple made 6 of 8 field goals, including 3 of 5 from three-point range, and 6 of 7 free throws over 4:38. Defensively, the Owls forced Wichita State to miss 6 of 8 field goals and grabbed a pair of steals.
Steve Settle III had seven of his 14 points during the late spurt, and Quante Berry netted five of his 14 points in the pivotal run.
“They just changed the game,” said Jamal Mashburn Jr., who led Temple with 24 points. “We have so many guys that can make a play. At any given moment, we all have to stay ready.”
Said Fisher of Settle’s contribution, “Steve’s a guy that makes big shots. He’s always in the right spot defensively. He’s always there to help his teammate. We used the term today, ‘Help your friend.’ If you help your friend, you gotta trust that he’ll help you at some point. Steve does some things that don’t always show up on the box score. I think his poise helps to settle us down. He does that with a calming influence on our guys.”
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Not “punked” or “bullied”
Mashburn likes the Owls’ chances in the AAC and loves starting out with a W on Temple’s home court.
“It’s great,” he said. “We just wanted to come out and protect home-court. This is our place. This is our home. And nobody is going to come into our home and punk us and bully us around. We made that a point of emphasis.”
Fisher echoed the message.
“We talk about it all season,” he said. “We want to be able to protect homecourt.”
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Lynn Greer III update
It has been a trying season for Lynn Greer III. The former Roman Catholic standout is playing in his third college, first transferring from Dayton to Saint Joseph’s and then to Temple this past offseason. But he was forced to sit out the first nine games for the Owls due to suspension, has played somewhat sparingly since his return to the lineup, and then sat out on Friday due to personal reasons.
And, based on Fisher’s comments, it doesn’t sound like this was just a one-game absence.
“Lynn is out right now for some personal reasons,” Fisher said. “I don’t have a timetable on his return. He’s part of our family. We’re here to support our student-athletes in any way we can.”
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St. Louis 73, Saint Joseph’s 57: The Hawks struggled all night from 3-point range, making just 15.4 percent (4 of 26) from beyond the arc in the defeat at St. Louis.
Saint Joseph’s had just five assists, and no player had more than just one assist.
The Hawks fall to 10-5 overall, 1-1 in the Atlantic 10.
Rasheer Fleming had 13 points and 10 rebounds to pace St. Joe’s. Fleming was in foul trouble early in the second half.
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Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story inadvertently said the Greer was “suspended” on Friday. In fact, he sat due to “personal reasons,” according to the team.
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages. His book on the 2003-04 Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball team is expected to be published on March 1, 2025. Read a summary and preorder it by clicking HERE. Contact him at aaron@big5hoops.com.