Damian Dunn and Khalif Battle are looking to ‘feed off each other’ to get Temple back on track

With the shot clock turned off and one timeout left, Temple coach Aaron McKie let his team play out the final possession of last Friday’s game against Villanova. Damian Dunn — the Owls’ leading scorer — let the clock wind down before driving into the lane, drawing a foul, and sinking the game-winning free throws.

“I wasn’t going to pass it to anybody else,” said fellow guard Khalif Battle. “It was either him or I was taking the last shot.”

Before Dunn’s breakout 2021-22 campaign, fans would have clamored for Temple to get the ball into Battle’s hands. Battle, who has said on a few occasions that he can be a bit tough for the coaching staff to handle, would have joined them. This year, though, that isn’t a problem at all.

“We’ve just been around each other for a while,” Dunn said. “It just clicked. And feeding off each other’s energy, I think we do well with that.”

Battle has played just 19 games in three seasons at Temple, so he hasn’t shared the floor with Dunn. Now that he’s back, the two are intent on getting Temple back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.

Dunn is a small-town guy from Kinston, N.C., and Battle is an Edison, N.J., native who transferred from Butler. They are two different people with two different backgrounds, and absolutely no regional ties to Temple. However, both view it as their responsibility to return Temple to the success it once enjoyed — especially during those Aaron McKie years.

“I hate when Coach [brags] about his team and I can’t brag about mine,” Battle said.

On McKie’s staff are former Temple guards Chris Clark and Mark Macon, who won conference championships for the Owls. Macon, Temple’s all-time leading scorer, shared a backcourt with McKie while playing for John Chaney.

The staffer with the most insight on Dunn and Battle, though, is a graduate assistant. As a walk-on who knew he wouldn’t play many minutes for the Owls, Colin Daly told McKie he wanted to get into coaching after his playing career. After spending two seasons on Temple’s bench alongside Dunn and Battle, Daly can now say he has played with and coached the duo.

“It’s definitely interesting,” Daly said. “It’s not often you find two guys with that much talent playing together. … They’re definitely very close. It’s hard to see them not together.”

Daly has seen how both players go about their business. He said teammates respect them, they respect each other, and they are vocal leaders. On the court, they know when to let the other operate and where to get each other the ball. Most important: They don’t bicker about who gets the last shot.

All of this is imperative for Temple after labeling itself as a “tournament-or-bust” team. Yet the Owls sit at 1-2 after home overtime losses to Wagner and Vanderbilt. Against the Commodores, Battle played just 19 minutes and sat out the overtime. Meanwhile, Dunn’s 38 points were the most by a Temple player since David Hawkins scored 41 against Massachusetts in 2004.

Battle looked off from the minute he stepped on the court, going 0-for-5 on the night, all on shots Temple fans have seen him make before. He sat with the coaches instead of his teammates and looked far from happy during timeouts.

“I just played the guys who I felt wanted to be out there,” McKie said. “Come February, March, we’re going to look back and start pointing to these games ... and it’s going to cost us. Big time.”

Battle is one of only two isolation scorers on the team, and he’s coming off the bench in favor of sophomore point guard Hysier Miller, who is averaging 4 points a game. Battle is averaging 13 points.

Despite their early struggles, the Owls still have dreams of an at-large bid in March, and they’ll need to ride the coattails of Dunn and Battle to get there.

“Keep coming out to Liacouras,” Battle said. “If we pack the house, we’ll give them a show.”