Temple Holds Off Blue Hens, 80-75, Despite Big Efforts From Hagins and Saddler
November 25, 2012
Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell
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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The University of Delaware men’s basketball team shot 56.9 percent from the field and got monster games from Jamelle Hagins and Devon Saddler, but it wasn’t enough as Temple also used an impressive shooting performance to outlast the Blue Hens, 80-75, Sunday afternoon at the Liacouras Center.
Hagins scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed a game-best 12 rebounds to record his fourth double-double of the season for Delaware, which fell to 2-4 while dropping its third consecutive game, all to quality competition. Saddler recorded his third consecutive 20-point outing by pouring in 25 points on the day. Hagins (at right) went 11 of 17 from the field while Saddler (at left) was 10 of 18, as the outstanding duo combined to go 21 of 35 from the field. They also combined to score 30 straight UD points from the 16:44 mark to the 2:21 mark of the second half.
Kyle Anderson added nine points for the Blue Hens, while Carl Baptiste contributed six and Larry Savage tied his career-high with six points off the bench. Those were the only five players who scored for Delaware, which was playing without Josh Brinkley who missed his second straight game with a right ankle injury and Jarvis Threatt who sat out with an abdominal injury suffered Friday against Pitt. However the short-handed Blue Hens still connected on 29 of their 51 field goal attempts and were 13 of 18 from the foul line.
Temple, which improved to 3-0 on the year and defeated Delaware for the 18th straight meeting, placed four players in double figures while shooting 48.1 percent from the field. The Owls hit 26 of their 54 field gaol attempts and knocked down 11 three-pointers in 29 shots from behind the arc. Scootie Randall led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds, while preseason first team Atlantic 10 selection Khalif Wyatt also scored 18 points while handing out seven assists. Jake O’Brien contributed 13 points off the bench for Temple, while Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson had 10 points and four steals.
Temple took a 41-34 lead into the half, and after Baptiste opened the second period with a jumper, the Owls quickly used a 9-0 spurt to take their largest lead of the day at 50-36 with 17:49 to play. However Delaware came right back with a pair of three-pointers by Anderson and Saddler, getting within single digits at 50-42 with 16:44 to the clock.
O’Brien added two free throws for the Owls, but Saddler buried a straightaway three and Hagins scored inside as UD closed within 52-47 at the 14:46 mark. Delaware later pulled within three points, and following a Dalton Pepper three-pointer, Saddler hit an acrobatic layup and Hagins converted a three-point play to make it a 62-61 game with eight and a half minutes remaining.
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Temple answered with six consecutive points but Delaware would not go away, as Hagins twice scored inside to cut the Owls’ margin to 70-67 with 3:05 to go. Following a Hollis-Jefferson basket Hagins scored again, and after a Hagins block, the Blue Hens had a chance to pull within one. But Baptiste’s jumper rimmed out, and Hollis-Jefferson hit two free throws to make it 74-69 with 1:34 left.
Anderson then had an 18-foot jumper fall off the rim, while Wyatt added a pair of foul shots to up the margin to seven with 59.4 seconds to play. However the Blue Hens would not quit, as Hagins hit one free throw and Baptiste added two to make it 77-73 with 24.8 seconds left. Delaware had a chance after Randall missed a pair from the line, but Terrell Rogers’ contested three-pointer was off the mark. Following a free throw by the Owls’ Anthony Lee, Saddler hit a jumper with 1.3 seconds to play, but Randall put the game away with two free throws with one second on the clock.
“It was a pretty entertaining game, and it was well-played from an offensive standpoint,” said seventh-year Blue Hen head coach Monté Ross. “We weren’t able to get stops when we needed to, but you have to give Temple credit for that. We know we have the ability to shoot the ball well, but we pride ourselves on our ability to shut down other teams, and we didn’t get that done today. Our group isn’t going to give up; we have some great leaders and they’re not going to succumb to adversity. Prior to today we weren’t doing a great job of getting Jamelle (Hagins) the ball, but he was pretty good today.”
Delaware jumped out to a 4-0 lead, before a 9-1 Temple run gave the Owls an early four-point advantage at the 16:15 mark of the first half. Baskets by Hagins and Saddler tied the game, but Temple used three triples to extend the margin to 20-13 with 11:10 on the clock.
Delaware would respond as a three-pointer by Anderson brought the Blue Hens within a pair, but O’Brien and Pepper answered with three-pointers to make it a 28-20 game with six minutes to play. O’Brien hit another shot from behind the arc to put the Owls up 34-24, but Delaware would answer by scoring on six consecutive possessions during a Blue Hen 10-4 run. However Randall drained a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer as Temple took a 41-34 advantage into the break.
Delaware, which shot just 29 percent during Friday’s first half against PItt, went 14 of 24 from the field in the opening 20 minutes for a 58.3 percentage. However the Owls hit 15 of their 30 field gaol attempts in the stanza, including 8 of 16 from three-point range.
The Blue Hens will look to get back into the win column on Wednesday when Delaware travels to Lafayette for a 7 p.m. contest with the Leopards.
