Temple celebrates after defeating Davidson for the program's 2,000th victory. (Photo: @TUMBBhoops/X Account)
Elijah Gray’s layup with 4 seconds left wins it for Owls; Jones’ career night lifts La Salle to comeback; Fleming shines in St. Joe’s rout
By AARON BRACY
December 19, 2024
PHILADELPHIA—It was a historic night in the Big 5 on Wednesday, as Elijay Gray’s spinning layup with four seconds remaining in regulation lifted Temple to a 62-61 win over Davidson to give the Owls the 2,000th victory in program history.
Temple became just the sixth college basketball program to reach 2,000 wins, joining Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, UCLA, and Kansas.
“Think about what you’re a part of,” coach Adam Fisher told the Owls afterward. “This is why you come to Temple. We don’t have to create history. It’s already been done for us. Our job is to continue it.”
Here is Gray’s winning basket:
Here is Fisher addressing the Owls:
Gray finished with 13 points and six rebounds. Jamal Mashburn had 19 points to lead the short-handed Owls (7-4), who were without Zion Stanford (lower body injury) and Jameel Brown (personal reasons).
The late, legendary John Chaney won 516 of those 2,000 games.
–La Salle 77, FDU 72: Rookie Deuce Jones scored nine consecutive points over a 3:36 stretch late in the second half to lead the Explorers (7-5) to a comeback win, improving to 5-0 at Glaser Arena.
Jones finished with a career-high 23 points along with nine rebounds.
“I play with the same intensity always,” Jones, through a La Salle spokesperson, told Big5Hoops.com. “I’m always defense first. Coach says that’s what he needs from me, so that’s what I do. It felt good to get a career high, but I’m just glad we got the win. We were down late, but we came together and came back.”
Here’s a clip of Jones from the game:
In addition to Jones, Daeshon Shepherd had a career-best 24 points as the Explorers overcame missing 15 of 18 three-pointers.
La Salle trailed by 10 points, 68-58, with 6:32 left before mounting the comeback.
–Saint Joseph’s 84, American 57: I was courtside at Hagan Arena to watch as the Hawks came out with a pressing defense that propelled them to the rout. St. Joe’s forced American to miss nine of its first 10 field goals on the way to an 18-4 lead that set the tone for the night.
The Hawks (7-4) were without point guard Xzayvier Brown, who sustained a strained hamstring in practice leading up to the game. Brown is day-to-day, coach Billy Lange said, and his availability for Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech at the Palestra isn’t t this time. Also, Steven Solano missed his fifth consecutive contest due to illness.
Rasheer Fleming continued to play at a high level, finishing with his third double-double of the season after accumulating 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Here’s a clip of Fleming from Wednesday:
The Hawks shot a scorching 60.4 percent (29 of 48) from the field, including 8 of 16 from three-point range.
Here is Billy Lange’s opening statement after the game:
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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.