VCU's defense missing in action: Temple 83, VCU 73

Final score: Temple 83, VCU 73

Location: Liacouras Center in Philadelphia

Current records: Temple 5-4. VCU 5-3

In a nutshell: Junior point guard Ace Baldwin and sophomore forward Jalen DeLoach provided 16 points each for VCU. Meanwhile, the Owls' two starting guards outscored them; Battle 27 points and Dunn 17 points. In addition, Temple scored four more points in the paint and its bench outscored VCU's by eight points. Moreover, the Rams defense was a step slow the whole game.

NOTES

·      Baldwin shot 4-of-5 from the line and 7-of-7 from the line for VCU. He added nine assists and four steals

·      DeLoach’s 16 points were a career-high, and he scored 11 of them in the second half alone. He added six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

·      Sophomores Jamir Watkins and Jayden Nunn also provided 14 points apiece for the Rams.

·      Battle scored 15 of his 27 after the break to help hold off VCU. He connected on 7-of-19 from the field, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range. He hit all nine of his free throw attempts. Damian Dunn added 17 points for the Owls. 

·      Temple shot 50 percent (27-of-54) from the floor in the game and converted 22-of-27 free throw attempts.

·      VCU committed 18 turnovers, which led to 17 Temple points. VCU forced 14 Temple turnovers, but just four in the second half.

·      The Owls outrebounded the Rams 30-28 overall, including 18-11 in the first half as they built a 37-33 lead.

·      VCU pulled within 55-54 on a Watkins corner 3-pointer with 12:03 left, but Temple responded with a 10-0 run that included a Battle 3-pointer to extent its lead to 65-54 with 7:30 remaining and eventually led by as many as 16 points.

·      Temple built an 18-7 lead in the first, but VCU chipped away with 12 first-half points by Baldwin, who converted a four-point play at the 1:16 mark to pull the Rams within 35-33.

·      This was the third all-time meeting between these two schools. Temple leads the series 2-1

·      VCU saw four players score in double figures for the first time this season.

·      The Rams shot a season-high 49 percent (25-of-51) from the field, including 50 percent (7-of-14) from 3-point range.

 

BOX SCORE

NEXT UP

VCU will host Jacksonville on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. That game will be broadcast on MASN and ESPN+. 

-- Notes info provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.