The Knockturnal attended Temple versus Connecticut Men’s basketball game in Hartford, CT yesterday. The game was highly intense.
During the first few minutes, UConn’s guard Rodney Purvis put an imprint on the game. Purvis scored the team’s first 8 points, sinking two three’s and a lay-up. It appeared to be a promising night for the redshirt Junior from Raleigh, NC. But fatigue began to play its role; the rest of Purvis’ shots were short until he made a clutch three pointer in the 2nd half.
Purvis had a tremendous amount of help from his teammate Shonn Miller. Miller played with a lot of heart and toughness. Although Connecticut trailed most of the game, the crowd didn’t despair on their Huskies. Yet, the crowd erupted when Miller was fouled on a ferocious dunk attempt, which earned him a three-point-play the old fashion way. However, Miller finished the game with 18 points, shooting 7-13 from the field.
UConn made timely baskets but Temple answered back and often silenced the perturbed crowd. Coleman and DeCosey were poised and provided points that Temple needed to withstand the lead. DeCosey and Coleman ended the game with 29 points combined.
Throughout their shooting slumps, the Huskies didn’t give in; they outscored the Owls by the 1-point in the 2nd half. But Temple’s point guard Josh Brown sealed the deal with a game-winning floater. With 2.6 seconds remaining Sterlin Gibbs attempted a desperation half-court shot, but he missed. The resiliency from the Owls speaks volumes for their mental toughness; they suffered from a 27-point loss to Houston previously.
Honestly, the Owls deserved to win, coming out victorious against a top 25-ranked team looks good on their resume. As for the Huskies, focus and hustle is what they’ll need to defeat Memphis. Also, execution and all 50/50 balls will have to go in their favor to be ranked amongst the top 25 again.
