Memphis Tigers at Temple Owls

Temple hands No. 18 Memphis first conference loss with 88-81 victory

Shane Dezonie added 15 points for the Owls (11-6 overall, 3-1 American), who had lost six in a row to the Tigers.

PJ Haggerty scored 21 for Memphis (13-4, 3-1), which was trying to improve to 4-0 in the conference for the first time since 2013. Tyrese Hunter scored 16 points and Dain Dainja had 14 points for the Tigers, who entered 4-0 in true road games.

Nicholas Jourdain, who played his first three seasons at Temple before transferring to Memphis before last season, contributed 11 points.

Temple played without point guard Lynn Greer III for the second straight contest. Greer missed the first nine games due to an NCAA-imposed suspension, then returned for four games before sitting out against Wichita State on Jan. 3 due to what the team called “personal reasons.” Greer is no longer on Temple’s roster on the website, and his father, Temple’s No. 2 career scorer Lynn Greer, who is the Owls’ chief of staff, was not on the team’s bench against Memphis.

Takeaways Memphis: The Tigers, whose nonconference wins include Missouri, UConn, Clemson, Virginia and Mississippi, are in great shape for an NCAA at-large bid should they not win the AAC conference tournament and gain the league’s automatic bid.

Temple: Beating Memphis is the marquee win in second-year coach Adam Fisher’s tenure. It is also a confidence-builder for the Owls, whose last NCAA tournament appearance came in 2019.

Key moment Haggerty missed two free throws with 1:57 remaining with a chance to cut the margin to two points. Stanford broke free for a wide-open dunk on the Owls’ ensuing possession, a four-point swing that was pivotal for Temple.

Up next Memphis: At Charlotte on Sunday

Temple: Host Tulane on Sunday.

How can I watch Memphis vs. Temple?

• TV Channel: Memphis at Temple 2021 College Basketball, week 11, is broadcasted on ESPN2.
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