Temple struggles to contain Wichita State in a 79-65 loss

At the Liacouras Center on Thursday night, Temple had no answers as Wichita State made significant shots down the stretch to win, 79-65.

Wichita State went on a 21-3 run and made 6 of 6 shots to close out the game. During this stretch, the Shockers made plays on defense and held the Owls scoreless for over five minutes. Offensive and defensive struggles have both contributed to Temple’s four-game losing streak.

The Owls lost all of their momentum from their upset win over Houston and look out of sorts before the American Athletic Conference Tournament starts. This loss moves Temple to fifth place in the AAC and without a first-round bye if the tournament started tomorrow.

“I think our team [is] getting frustrated, especially when things are not going your way,” guard Hysier Miller said. “We had one of them games… We all get frustrated, but we can also, instead of getting frustrated, we can come together.”

Last season, Temple finished 17-12. Through 27 games, the Owls surpassed that loss total and have not met their original expectations of “tournament-or-bust” that was talked about this preseason.

Temple (14-13, 8-6) was led offensively by two sophomores.

Miller scored a team-high 17 points and finished with four assists. Forward Zach Hicks went 6 of 9 for 15 points, including making 3 of 5 from three-point range.

Wichita State (14-12, 7-7) guard Jaykwon Walton scored a game-high 21 points for the Shockers.

Temple struggled inside of the paint against Wichita State. Outside of forward Nick Jourdain, the Owls struggled to get production from their big men.

Wichita State outrebounded Temple, 42-26.

“I always try to make the correlation with boxing,” head coach Aaron McKie said. “You see some guys with a busted eye [and] lip, bleeding. Most people say, ‘They need to stop the fight or they need to do this…’ And then the boxer guys are like, ‘They are going to have to carry me.’ We’ve got to have that sort of mindset.”

Hicks and Miller were efficient and made some impressive shots at different points. Their contributions made things easier, especially when guards Damian Dunn and Khalif Battle struggled to make shots.

Battle only played three minutes in the second half.

“[It] was just a decision I made,” McKie said about Battle’s limited minutes down the stretch.

Temple finished 23 of 56, including 10 of 24 from three-point range and 9 of 15 from the free-throw range.

Wichita State went 27 of 58, including 10 of 26 from beyond the arc. The Shockers outscored Temple off the bench, 22-10.

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Temple went on a 7-0 second-half run that was sparked by Jourdain’s slam dunk. To end this run, Wichita State forward Kenny Pohto made a layup with 14 minutes and 22 seconds remaining.

Wichita State responded to Temple’s momentum with an 11-2 run, but Jourdain made a three-pointer to reignite his team and started a 13-0 run. During this run, Dunn made two consecutive shots from three-point range to give Temple a 62-58 lead.

It was not enough.

The Shockers rallied when Walton made a three-pointer to spark that 21-3 run.

Temple faces Tulsa (5-20,1-3) on Sunday at the Liacouras Center (2 p.m., ESPN+).