Temple men defeat Drexel in the Big 5 Classic led by Zion Stanford’s career day

As Temple’s Dillon Battie slammed home a putback dunk with 11 minutes, 57 seconds left in the second half, it seemed the Owls had taken all the momentum on opening night of the Big 5 Classic with a nine-point lead over Drexel.

However, one well-timed Zack Spiker timeout later, the Dragons came roaring back, cutting the Owls’ lead that had reached 11 points to three with 8:23 remaining.

Yet, Temple battled back and took control the rest of the way for a 69-61 win at the Liacouras Center Tuesday night.

“We talk about it all the time,” Owls coach Adam Fisher said, “you’ve got to be cool, calm and collected. They did a really nice job late of being under control.”

The Dragons (2-1) now must beat La Salle (3-0) for a chance at the Big 5 Classic championship game on Dec. 7 at the Wells Fargo Center.

» READ MORE: St. Joe’s men take down Villanova for the second straight season in Big 5 Classic matchup

Here are three takeaways from the second game of the Big 5′s opening night.

The Owls (3-0) had a tough shooting night.

However, sophomore forward Zion Stanford stepped up, scoring a career-high 23 points, including 19 in the first half, on 9-of-13 shooting. Stanford had just 12 points in the first two games.

“I just like going in the flow of the offense,” Stanford said. “I make shots in practice, so I know when I get the ball in certain spots in the game, I know what shots I can put up.”

Stanford led all scorers, while Drexel’s Kobe MaGee led his squad with 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting. Temple’s Jamal Mashburn Jr. had 20 points despite making just five of his 16 attempts.

Temple was short two forwards as Mohamed Keita was out with a finger injury and Elijah Gray has yet to see the floor due to being in the concussion protocol.

The Dragons took full advantage, outrebounding the Owls 43-38 (17-10 on the offensive glass for 18 second-chance points). Drexel forward Cole Hargrove had 12 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end, in addition to his 15 points.

The main difference in Temple’s win was taking advantage of its opportunities when Drexel couldn’t.

The Owls shot 41.5% from the floor on 53 shots, while the Dragons shot 34.3% on 67 attempts from the field. Drexel finished 7-of-33 from the three-point line, including 2-for-13 from beyond the arc in the first half.

» READ MORE: Temple’s basketball teams ended last season on a high. What’s the plan to keep the momentum going?

“[Our three-point attempts are] a big number if you haven’t seen us play a ton,” Spiker said. “If you know how our team is built right now — our starting center [Garfield Turner] is done for the year [with a knee injury], we found out in October. Some of our best possessions are going to be perimeter shots throughout the year.”

The Owls will hit the road to face Boston College (1-1) on Friday (7 p.m. ACC Network).

Meanwhile, Drexel will host La Salle in the Explorers’ first Big 5 Classic game at the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Saturday (2 p.m. FloSports).