After a slow start, Temple storms back to win its season opener against Sacred Heart

Temple opened its men’s basketball season on a high note in an 81-70 win over Sacred Heart at the Liacouras Center on Monday night.

The Owls struggled at the start of the second half and trailed by six points with 12 minutes remaining. However, the Owls regained a rhythm to shut down the Pioneers, holding off a late push.

Temple was fueled by a 26-point performance by guard Jamal Mashburn Jr., while Steve Settle added 16 points along with seven rebounds and six assists. Sacred Heart was paced by a 22-point effort from forward Tanner Thomas.

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

“Tough, gritty win,” said Temple coach Adam Fisher. “None of these are easy. I’m really proud of the resilience of our team. When you add 10 new faces, you’re going to see some hiccups, but I thought our guys stuck together.”

Here are three key takeaways from the Owls’ season opener.

When Fisher secured Mashburn’s commitment, the second-year coach landed a guard with nearly 2,000 points to his name at the college level. Mashburn showed the Temple faithful how he put up that level of production Monday night.

The graduate guard, who previously played at Minnesota and New Mexico, finished 10-for-16 from the field, and he hit five of his seven attempts from behind the three-point line.

“It felt good to get a win,” Masburn said. “I wasn’t walking four months ago because I had surgery. I’m blessed to be here and playing.”

Last season, the Owls lacked a primary scorer who could lead the offense. They may have fixed that issue.

“I don’t think he knew how many points he had,” Fisher said. “He just cares that we won the game.”

With his performance, Mashburn became one of just four active Division I players with 100 games of more than 10 points.

St. Joe’s transfer Lynn Greer III sat out the first game of his nine-game suspension. The Owls lacked their primary point guard and struggled to run the offense early and often.

Temple finished with 16 turnovers, and Sacred Heart scored 24 points off those giveaways.

“We want to be at 10 or less, so I was disappointed in our rebounding and turnovers,” Fisher said. “Credit to Sacred Heart, I thought they created a lot of turnovers.”

Guard Quante Berry, who was the team’s third-string point guard last season, started the contest and played 38 minutes against the Pioneers. He had eight points on 3-for-5 shooting, but his four turnovers tied for the team high..

Guard Shane Dezonie also struggled in his 28 minutes, shooting 1-for-7 from the field and 0-for-4 beyond the arc.

Greer won’t return until December, and the Owls must find someone to step up in his place.

Despite their turnovers, the Owls showed flashes of potential against the Pioneers.

Settle looked more comfortable in an Owls uniform than he had all of last season. He and freshman forward Dillon Battie impressed from the frontcourt, as Battie had four points in his seven minutes.

The Owls had all nine players score, and Temple’s backups outscored the Pioneers 26-16. Former Penn State guard Jameel Brown was the third Owl to score in double figures with his 11 points off the bench, including six in the second half.

Temple heads to Trenton to face Monmouth as part of the Jersey Jam event at CURE Insurance Arena on Friday (6 p.m.).

» READ MORE: Follow the Inquirer's full coverage of Temple athletics right here!