Temple defeats Jefferson in charity exhibition, 70-60

Temple unveiled a deeper team, in its final tune-up before opening its college basketball season Nov 16 against Old Dominion in the Charleston (SC) Classic.

Ten players saw action in the first half alone as the Owls defeated Division II Jefferson (formerly Philadelphia University), 70-60, during Thursday's charity exhibition at the Liacouras Center.

Ticket sales from the game were donated to One America Appeal to benefit those impacted by the recent hurricanes that hit Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

There were no surprises in the Temple starting lineup, with Josh Brown, Shizz Alston and Quinton Rose in the backcourt, Obi Enechionyia at forward and Ernest Aflakpui at center.

It was the fans' first look at the newcomers and three of coach Fran Dunphy's four freshman saw action – 6-foot-6 forward Dre Perry, 6-4 guard Nate Pierre Louis and 6-7 forward J.P. Moorman.

Perry had six points and six rebounds in 17 minutes. Pierre-Louis had two points and a steal in nine minutes and helped pick up the defensive intensity. Moorman was scoreless with a steal in 10 minutes.

None of the freshmen looked out of place.

For that matter, neither did Jefferson.

The Rams had opened their season by going 2-1 in last weekend's Sports Anaheim DII Top-Off Classic, and they weren't intimidated at playing a Division I school.

Coached by legendary Herb Magee, Jefferson was led by freshman sharpshooter Alexander Gorton and 6-6 Josh Bradanese, who both had 13 points.

"We won't see teams as big and strong and athletic as Temple, so that is a great game for us," Magee said.

Temple was led by sophomore guard Alani Moore and 6-8 sophomore Quinton Rose, who each had 13 points. Moore, who led the Owls last season in three-point field goal percentage (.414) hit 3 of 5 from three-point range. Rose scored all his points while playing 17 minutes in the first half. He didn't play in the second half due to cramps, something that bothered him at times last year. Enechionyia added 12 points and six rebounds.

Brown played 32 minutes, most on Temple's team. Coach Fran Dunphy said he didn't want to play Brown that long, but Jefferson started closing the gap in the final eight minutes, so the senior captain stayed on the court.

"The first 32 minutes we had a nice run but the last eight we didn't play very well," Dunphy said.

Coming off an Achilles tendon injury suffered in May of 2016, Brown appeared in just five games last season before earning a medical redshirt.

"I feel good and it was just good to be out there again, fans out there cheering on us," said Brown who had 10 points and three assists. "There was a lot of electricity, I was a little anxious and it was just a good dress rehearsal for us."