Temple rallies past Minnesota in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, P.R. -- For one stretch, Temple looked nothing like the team that had appeared to be in command of Minnesota in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Thursday.

Two seniors -- and a big play from a freshman guard -- turned matters around for the Owls.

Recovering from a 6 1/2-minute field-goal drought in the second half, Temple turned to seniors Devin Coleman and Jaylen Bond down the stretch, with guard Trey Lowe chipping in at just the right time, and the Owls went on to a 75-70 victory at Coliseo Roberto Clemente.

With its first victory of the season sealed, Temple (1-1) will face Butler in the second round on Friday.

"We did a good job getting that lead then we obviously played poorly to lose it, then we got it together again," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "I hope that's a sign of things to come for us.

"Certainly losing the lead, we gave the ball up three times in a row, and that's a format for disaster there, and we didn't guard as well as we needed to."

Bond scored a team-high 19 points, including two putbacks in the second half, and Coleman scored 15. Coleman's 3-pointer from the left wing with 7:02 left ended a 17-2 run that had enabled the Golden Gophers (2-1) to take a 56-50 lead with 7:49 left.

"Once we saw that one shot fall, it sparked things," Bond said. "Once that shot fell, we were able to open up our offense."

Temple extended a five-point halftime lead to 48-39 with 13:47 left. That's when Minnesota took charge behind center Bakary Konate, who led a unit that held Temple to two free throws during the 17-2 run.

Coleman's 3-pointer cut the Owls' deficit to 56-53, then Lowe drove to the basket after a steal from Levan Alston and converted a 3-point play to tie the game at 56 with 6:41 left.

Down 58-56, Coleman tied the game with two free throws, and a minute later, Bond's offensive rebound and basket gave Temple a 60-58 advantage.

With 3:45 left, Coleman's 3-pointer from the left corner capped a 15-2 run and Temple was back in charge.

"It's a situation where we're down and we try to just keep our heads up and know that we've got to execute better and defend a little better in order to pull ourselves back up," Coleman said. "Sometimes, you just don't make shots.

"We weren't executing as well as we needed to or playing as hard as we needed to. Thankfully, after however long it was, we got one to fall. It seemed to open things up a little bit."

Guard Quenton DeCosey added 12 points and forward Obi Enechionyia came off the bench to score 14 for Temple, which had 17 assists on 23 baskets and committed only eight turnovers.

"Obi's an 'X' factor for us," Dunphy said of the 6-foot-9 sophomore. "He shoots the ball so well. I don't remember him missing seven shots. He's such a dangerous jump shooter, you hope he can go on some runs like he did today."

Guard Nate Mason led Minnesota with 20 points, and guard Carlos Morris added 16. Sharpshooting forward Joey King stung the Owls a couple times, but was limited by foul trouble and finished with 10 points.

"We're learning more about our team and who's going to step up and at what time," Dunphy said. "We have some pretty good senior leadership. Jaylen Bond and Devin Coleman played very well today."