Temple thumps Buffalo as Quante Berry provides a spark

Temple led Buffalo by as much as 16 points early in the second half Sunday, but the Bulls began to chip away at the Owls' lead, cutting the deficit to eight points. Temple needed a spark and it got one from Quante Berry.

With eight minutes left, Berry forced a steal and slammed a dunk in transition that brought the crowd at the Liacouras Center to its feet. The Owls carried the momentum through the remainder of the game to come away with a 91-71 victory in their last nonconference game.

“I was just trying to make the right play for my team when we needed it,” Berry said. “That’s what was going through my head, just make the dunk.”

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Temple finished its nonconference schedule with an 8-5 record, its best nonconference mark since the Owls went 8-5 in 2019-20.

“I thought our team did a great job,” Temple coach Adam Fisher said. “Proud of these guys. Proud that we went 5-0 in nonconference [play] at home, I think that’s important. There’s teams in our league that played nine home games. I thought we challenged ourselves to get ready for league play.”

Temple’s guards led the way as Jamal Mashburn Jr., Zion Stanford, Shane Dezonie, and Berry all scored in double digits. Mashburn led the way with 18 points, Stanford and Berry each added 15, and Dezonie had 11.

Not only did the guards find ways to score, they did so efficiently. The four of them shot 21 of 35 from the field combined.

“They were switching up different defenses,” Mashburn said. “They started off in man, then they went to zone, then they pressed. They were doing a lot of different stuff to off-put our rhythm. I was just taking what the defense gave me, and continued to be aggressive.”

Dezonie struggled to start the year, averaging about three points through the early going, but has averaged 11 points in the last three games.

“[Dezonie] missed the first 25 practices of preseason” with an injury, Fisher said. “Then he comes back for the final three practices [before the season], so it’s going to take some time.”

Rebounding had been one of Temple’s biggest Achilles' heels this season, as they allowed 38 opponents per game by opponents. That wasn’t the case against the Bulls. Temple outrebounded Buffalo, 44-30, including 11 offensive boards that led to 10 second-chance points.

“The last four games we’ve done a much better job,” Fisher said. “We’ve got to do a great job and emphasize it. We’ve really focused on our guys going to the glass and getting more opportunities. Rebounding and defense are the two staples we try to focus on.”

Forward Steve Settle III led the way for the Owls with 11 rebounds. Elijah Gray and Dezonie added five apiece.

The Owls will start American Athletic Conference play with a home game against Wichita State (9-3) on Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN 2.