Top-ranked Houston shocked by Temple
HOUSTON — Temple coach Aaron McKie got a wet welcome into his team’s locker room following the Owls’ win over No. 1 Houston.
He didn’t mind. Damian Dunn scored 16 points and hit the go-ahead free throw, Kur Jongkuch blocked Houston’s goahead attempt in the final seconds and Temple held on to defeat the top-ranked Cougars, 56-55, Sunday.
“It was a cold celebration for me because the guys threw a lot of cold water on me, so it was pretty good,” McKie said. “It’s just always fun to see guys just so excited about a win and just enjoying this game of basketball.”
Temple improved to 3-18 against No. 1 ranked teams. The Owls (12-9, 6-2 American Athletic Conference) earned their first win over a No. 1 ranked team since a 77-69 victory at No. 1 Cincinnati on Feb. 20, 2000.
“Any time you get the opportunity to beat the No. 1 team in the nation on their home floor, it was a great atmosphere and a really good win for our guys,” McKie said.
With the game tied at 55, Dunn hit a free throw with 1:06 left to give Temple a one-point lead. Houston’s Jamal Shead missed a 3-pointer and Nick Jourdain grabbed the rebound. Dunn missed a layup with eight seconds left, and Jongkuch grabbed the rebound, but the Owls were whistled for a shot-clock violation upon review.
“I was trying to attack the rim,” Dunn said. “I was not really searching for (a call), but was trying to be aggressive and go downhill and putting the pressure on the referee.”
With Houston trailing by one, Shead drove to the basket, but Jongkuch blocked it out of the bounds with 1.3 seconds left. Tramon Mark’s tip-in attempt fell short at the buzzer to give the Owls the win.
Dunn said Jongkuch “really won the game for us.”
“I saw my teammate get beat, and I’m like ‘We have to do something’ because at that (point), all bets are off, so I just went up and got the block,” Jongkuch said.
Zach Hicks added 12 points for Temple, which snapped a six-game losing streak to Houston. The Owls shot 31% but were 20 of 22 from the free-throw line.