Alston, Rose help Temple hold off Georgia 81-77
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Shizz Alston Jr. and Quinton Rose poured in 25 points apiece and Temple held off Georgia 81-77 on Tuesday night.
The Owls (3-0) opened up a 45-34 lead by the end of the first half with Alston and Rose accounting for 23 points.
The Bulldogs (1-1) whittled away at the lead and pulled within 49-45 on Derek Ogbeide's dunk, but Alston had buckets at both ends of a 7-0 run and Temple pushed its lead back to double figures at 56-45. Georgia pulled within 77-74 on a two free throws by Ogbeide with 1:12 to play, but Rose buried a jumper and Alston hit two free throws with three seconds left to preserve the win.
"The character was definitely there, but we have to learn to be the same team both halves," Georgia coach Tom Crean said. "The first half, we were back on our heels against the pressure, and we weren't attacking once we set the screen in the middle of the floor. We didn't attack, and we work on attacking every day."
Nate Pierre-Louis had 16 points and six rebounds for Temple.
Ogbeide and Crump finished with 16 points each for Georgia. Ogbeide added 11 rebounds for his seventh career double-double. Rayshaun Hammonds added 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
DOUBLE-DIGIT BUCKETS
Rose's 25 points came on 11-of-24 shooting from the floor. The 6-foot-8 junior guard was also the most recent Owl to make 10 shots in a game, hitting 10 last November in a win over South Carolina.
BIG PICTURE
Georgia: The Bulldogs were coming off a 110-76 win over Savannah State in which they shot 57 percent from the floor for their highest point total since 1999. ... Georgia shot just 42 percent in the first half in falling behind the Owls, but connected at a 62.5-percent clip (15 of 24) after intermission and finished at 51 percent for the game.
Temple: Alston scored his 1,000th career point early in the second half, becoming the 53rd Owl to accomplish the feat. The senior added six assists and three steals. ... A key stat in the game for Temple was 20 forced turnovers that led to 22 points.
UP NEXT
Georgia: The Bulldogs host Sam Houston State on Thursday.
Temple: The Owls host Loyola-Maryland on Friday as part of the GotPrint.com Legends Classic.
