by Kent MannoWith Juan Fernandez watching from the bench (sidelined with a head injury), the Owls struggled against Richmond as a game of catch-up would not yield accolades for the Owls as the Comeback Kids. Richmond defeated the Owls 71-54 in snowy Richmond.
Same story, different day. Temple starts off slow and attempts to find a groove. Usually after a short while in the first half they begin to click and baskets start dropping. Not the case today in snowy Richmond. Too many turnovers and a stingy Richmond match-up zone defense created too much of a hill to climb for the Owls.
Richmond's Kevin Anderson was stellar with 29 points, as Allen and Moore could only muster 17 points each for the Owls. Clearly, the team missed the play of Juan Fernandez.
The first half was all Spiders. Allen needed the ball more with 1 on 1's the key to breaking down Richmond's defense. It was just as tough to get a little daylight into the lanes for a good shot. Jefferson and DiLeo showed signs of promise, but let's remember they are young players.
Temple picked up the defensive hustle in the second half trying the full court press. Richmond seemed to be slowing a bit, but they did not hesitate at all. At 5:54 to go in the game, Temple had an offensive run and was only down by 9, and there was hope.
Unfortunately the hill was too much to climb.
Shooting percentage from the field was off for the majority of the game, and Richmond was hitting quite a few 3's.
It's going to be a long and quiet ride home.
The Owls have a week off to re-group and re-focus on the tail end of the season. A win today would have been nice as Xavier lost to Dayton 90-65.
Rhode Island next Saturday, see you all there. Live tweets from the Liacouras Center.
