Temple's Brown and Enechionyia kept their cool vs. SMU
DALLAS - Neither a boisterous crowd nor a nationally ranked team seemed to faze two of Temple's youngest players in the most pressurized of settings.
DALLAS - Neither a boisterous crowd nor a nationally ranked team seemed to faze two of Temple's youngest players in the most pressurized of settings.
During Thursday's 67-58 American Athletic Conference loss at Southern Methodist, before a frenzied, sellout crowd of 6,852 at Moody Coliseum, Temple sophomore guard Josh Brown and 6-foot-9 freshman Obi Enechionyia kept their cool.
Each scored eight points off the bench. Brown also added three rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes. Enechionyia, who missed the previous three games with an ankle injury, played 18 minutes, and it would have been more had he not been in foul trouble.
Still, they didn't let the atmosphere or No. 21 SMU overwhelm them.
"They are certainly part of our future as a basketball program," coach Fran Dunphy said on Friday after Temple worked out at the SMU practice facility. "Obi hadn't played in three games, which isn't easy, and he got himself into foul trouble, which didn't help us or him."
Brown was one of the few Temple players not in foul trouble. He only committed one.
"Josh has been a pretty solid performer and made some big plays [Thursday]," Dunphy said. "We are pleased with how they are coming along as good, young guys in our program."
Enechionyia, who averages 5.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 18.2 minutes, said his ankle is getting better every day. He also could feel the lift he and Brown provided off the bench.
"I noticed it. That is what Josh does, too," Enechionyia said. "Pretty much every game, that is what we come in to do, come off the bench and try to pick the energy up."
Enechionyia made his first shot, a three-pointer from the top of the key.
"That helps," he said. "It was my first shot in a couple of weeks and helped get me in the game."
Brown, who hit the game-winner in a 61-60 win at Memphis on Feb. 7, echoed the mood of his team after a loss in which SMU didn't take the lead for good until less than three minutes remained.
"We felt the lift [when coming in], but we didn't come out with a victory, so we have to do a little more, everybody has to do a little bit more," said Brown, who is averaging 6.4 points in 21.1 minutes.
Now it's on to a task that will be almost as difficult. Temple (19-8, 10-4 AAC) visits Tulsa (18-7, 11-2) on Sunday. Both teams are looking to enhance their NCAA resumés, and the winner will get a big boost.
It might be the most pressurized game of the year, but at least Dunphy knows that two of his youngest players have shown they can thrive under these conditions.
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