Owls rebound from loss, beat Georgia

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - This was more like it.

One night after suffering an offensive meltdown, Temple showed why it's the nation's 21st-ranked team.

Temple shot at a high percentage, had a superhuman effort from an unlikely hero, and put the clamps on Georgia's late rally.

In the end, the Owls prevailed, 65-58, in an Old Spice Classic consolation game Friday night at the HP Fieldhouse in the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

The victory sent the Owls (3-1) into Sunday's 11 a.m. fifth-place game against Texas A&M, a 74-45 winner over Manhattan. The win also enabled Temple to avoid back-to-back setbacks for the first time since losing to La Salle and Dayton in February 2009.

The Owls credited this victory to being on the opposite end of a decisive 16-1 run in Thursday's 57-50 loss to California.

"After that loss, it hurt us a lot," Temple swingman Scootie Randall said. "I think we prepared a lot for that game. And for us to lose that game like that was just hard on us.

"So I think over the hours after the game, we just sat back and thought as a team, thought as individuals. And we had to be prepared today."

It can be argued that no one was more prepared than Randall.

The 6-foot-6 junior erased memories of his 0-for-4 effort Thursday.

Against the Bulldogs (3-2), Randall made his first seven shots from the field. The Communications Tech product, who hit 4 of 6 three-point attempts, finished with a career-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Randall scored 12 of the Owls' first 18 points. Fifteen of his points came on 6-for-6 shooting in the first half.

"It felt like no matter what I threw up, it was going to go in," Randall said. "I just kept shooting. But there were some times I had shots and I passed them up to better my team."

Thanks to his unselfishness, the Owls finished with a balanced attack.

Junior guard Ramone Moore added 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Junior center Micheal Eric and sophomore reserve guard Khalif Wyatt each scored 10 points. Wyatt's was a career high.

As a team, Temple shot 49 percent (25 for 51) one day after shooting a season-worst 33 percent.

"Did we shoot that good - 33 percent - yesterday?" Temple coach Fran Dunphy asked jokingly. "I thought we were really poor yesterday. But I was real proud of our team today. I thought we did a really good job."

Temple led by 11 points with 11 minutes, 15 seconds remaining. But a layup by Bulldogs guard Gerald Robinson (16 points) closed the gap to 59-55 with 1:13 left.

And that was as close as Georgia got.

Temple reserve forward Rahlir Jefferson responded with a layup. After Moore converted four foul shots, the Owls created a 10-point cushion (65-55) with 27 seconds to play.

Temple held the lead after the 3:52 mark of the first half. But early on, it appeared this game could come down to a last-second shot. There were eight lead changes and seven ties in the first half.

Temple signee Will Cummings attended the game. He is a 6-foot senior point guard at the Providence School in Jacksonville, Fla.