Temple 77, Louisiana Tech 59

[March 26, 2015]  Temple 77, Louisiana Tech 59: Quenton DeCosey made 7-of-11 from field en route to 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the host Owls pulled away from the Bulldogs in the NIT quarterfinals.

Jesse Morgan contributed 17 points for Temple (26-10), which will play Miami (Fla.) in the semifinals on Tuesday in New York. Will Cummings chipped in with 15 points and six assists for the Owls, who made 9-of-18 from behind the 3-point arc and won the seventh time in their last eight games.

Erik McCree went 5-of-7 from the field and scored 14 points for the Bulldogs (27-9), who shot 36.7 percent from the field to lose in the NIT quarterfinals for the second time in three seasons. Michale Kyser recorded 10 points and nine rebounds while Raheem Appleby scored 10 for Louisiana Tech.

The Bulldogs trailed by two before Temple ran off 14 of the next 18 – including 3-pointers from Cummings and Jaylen Bond -- for a 12-point bulge before settling for a 41-33 lead at intermission. Cummings scored 11 while the Owls shot 51.7 percent from the field and made 5-of-9 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes.

Louisiana Tech pulled within five early in the second half, but a pair of 3-pointers by Morgan capped a 12-4 run as Temple pushed the lead to 55-42 with 15 ½ minutes left. DeCosey and Cummings capped a 6-0 burst with baskets to push the lead to 18 with 4:28 to go and Louisiana Tech did not have an answer.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Temple extended its school record to 16 victories on its home court – the Liacouras Center – and also beat Kansas at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center in December. … Louisiana Tech G Kenneth Smith, the Conference USA Player of the Year, had eight points and five assists before suffering a left ankle injury that ended his night with 11:26 left in the game. … The Owls are 23-15 all time in the NIT and won the title in 1938 and 1969.

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