Temple Basketball: Resilient Owls Come from Behind to Defeat GW

If one word describes this Temple basketball team, that word is resilient.

The Owls, down by 12 at halftime to a struggling George Washington team, rallied with a 50 point second half to win 79-72. The win marks Temple's seventh straight win and keeps the Owls in command of first place in the Atlantic-10 conference.

The Colonials opened the second half by increasing their double digit lead to 15 points. The Owls displayed their resilience in fighting back, despite senior guard Juan Fernandez suffering a hip pointer and sitting out for most of the final seven minutes of the game.

In the second half, led by  dynamic guard duo of Ramone Moore and Khalif Wyatt, Temple shot 52 percent from the field and held the Colonials to 38 percent shooting. 

Moore, a favorite for A-10 Player of the Year honors, finished with 25 points and four assists. Wyatt, despite being pulled from the starting line up as punishment for study hall tardiness, finished with 22 points. Michael Eric, still working himself back after a patella injury, played a solid 23 minutes and finished with nine points and six rebounds. 

Temple's second half play demonstrated the resilience that this team embodies. Many teams, down by 15, would have not had the fortitude to fight back and win. These wins, where leadership and toughness prevail, build character for a team inching closer to an A-10 title and a tourney berth. The Owls will need to continue to show such resilience as they face six teams with winning records in the final seven game stretch.