PHILADELPHIA JAN. 22, 2015 – Freshman center
Ruben Guerrero had his second consecutive game in double-digits with 10 points, but poor shooting and too many turnovers cost the Bulls in a 73-48 loss at Temple on Thursday.
The Bulls, which fell to 7-12 on the season and 1-5 in the American Athletic Conference, shot 30.4 percent from the field. The USF defense held the Owls (13-7, 4-3) to 40.9 percent shooting from the field, the 11th time the Bulls have held their opponent to under 44 percent shooting. However, Temple was 10-of- 25 (40.0 percent) from 3-point range including 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) in the first half.
"We didn't capitalize on some of the possessions where we got the ball close to the basket," said head coach Orlando Antigua. "We got the ball inside, but didn't finish it off, didn't finish through contact and didn't capitalize on the opportunities we had. Some of that led to turnovers, to quick rebounds and to easy transition points for Temple."
The Bulls trailed 10-4 early on, but they scored 10 unanswered points behind two 3-pointers by Corey Allen Jr. to take a 14-10 lead with 8:36 to play in the first half. USF also held Temple scoreless for over six minutes during that stretch. Temple then ended the half on a 29-6 run, making 10-of-14 field goals, to take a 39-20 halftime lead.
"We were concentrating on getting three stops in-a-row and we did that and were excited about that, then we got away from it," Antigua said. "We started fouling, then the turnovers happened, then our heads went down and we start feeling sorry for ourselves. At that time, the other team gets going and then it's too far of a hill to climb."
Guerrero had six rebounds to go with his 10 points. Senior guard Corey Allen Jr. (St. Louis) scored a team-high 12 points and made two 3-pointers.
Temple took advantage of USF's miscues by scoring 21 points off the Bulls' 15 turnovers. The Owls' Jesse Morgan scored a game-high 19 points and was 5-of-8 from 3-point range.
"Those guys are hurting a little bit because they've been working hard in practice every day to get better," Antigua said. "I told them, 'Look, we can't have lapses. We can't have missed assignments or lose focus.'"
USF will play at defending national champion UConn on Sunday at noon on CBSSN.
