By Logan Perrone

Missouri men’s basketball opened up a five-game homestand against Temple Owls Tuesday night.

It was the first game following a second-place finish in the last week’s 2018 Paradise Jam Tournament, played in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Owls came in boasting a 5-1 record, and on the heels of a third-place finish in the Legends Tournament in Brooklyn, New York. Mizzou entered the non-conference matchup at 3-2.

After Missouri won the opening tip, the Tigers kept a slim lead throughout the first ten minutes of regulation, trading buckets back-and-forth with the Owls. Neither side could gain an edge- until the last three and a half minutes before halftime, that is.

Temple, down by 2 at the time, went on a 9-0 run powered by four different scorers. A last second three-pointer by the Temple’s Shizz Alston Jr. gave the Owls a 10-point, lead at the half.

In the second half, the Missouri came out strong, and within the first three minutes had cut the lead to four with seven unanswered points. Nonetheless, Temple answerwed with another 9-0 run that put Missouri down 12 with ten left to play in the half.

Mizzou would not go down easily, bringing the deficit to two points three separate times in the final two minutes of regulation. It wasn’t enough, as Temple ultimately held out in the final seconds to secure the 79-77 victory.

For the Tigers, turnovers were the kryptonite that led to their defeat. Mizzou had given the ball up 15 times compared to Temple’s five. The Owls capitalized off mistakes with 20 points coming off of those turnovers. Additionally, Temple recorded 7 offensive rebounds of in the first half of which 6 resulted in points. Missouri will look to rebound against Central Florida on Sunday, Dec. 2 at home. Tip-off is set for 2:00 PM and can be watched on ESPNU.

Edited by Garrett Jones | gcjh23@mail.missouri.edu