'Owlful' overtime, Temple edges UMass

AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) - After shooting 48 percent from the floor in regulation, UMass shot 1-of-10 in overtime while Temple finished the game by making 18-of-21 free throws to defeat the Minutemen, 73-67 on Senior Night at the Mullins Center on Wednesday night. In a game that saw 11 lead changes, seven came after the 8:14 mark of the second half as UMass had its streak of seven-straight Senior Night victories snapped. Senior Anthony Gurley led all scorers with 25 points.

In the extra period, Temple received field goals from T.J. DiLeo at the 4:20 mark and Lavoy Allen at the 3:04 mark and made 2-of-4 free throws in the final 30 seconds, while UMass got its only points on a Javorn Farrell lay-up with 20 seconds left.

Gurley scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half and shot 5-of-13 from 3-point range, while Javorn Farrell added 13 points and Gary Correia dished out six assists.

Temple was led by Juan Fernandez with 19 points, while Lavoy Allen registered a double-double with 14 points and 18 rebounds.

Temple had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Sampson Carter  blocked Juan Fernandez' shot with two seconds left to send the Minutemen to overtime for the first time this season, tied 65-65.

A Gurley 3-pointer with 2:50 remaining tied the game 60-60, exactly one minute later, at 1:50, Gary Correia hit a 3-pointer to give the Minutemen a 63-62 lead, and Gurley hit the final field goal of regulation, a lay-up with 1:12 left that gave UMass a 65-64 lead, but Temple, who went without a field goal in the final 6:07 of regulation, made 9-of-10 free throws in that stretch.

After leading by four at the half, UMass' lead stayed between three and six points for the first 9:48 of the second half until the Owls went on an 8-1 run between the 10:12 and 8:14 marks, with a Fernandez 3-pointer giving the road club its first lead of the half, 54-52.

After UMass led for the first 12 minutes of the game, Temple took its first lead on a T.J. DiLeo lay-up, 19-18 with 7:18 left in the half, but after two more lead changes, the Minutemen took the lead for the rest of the half when Gurley scored five-straight points, on a 3-pointer and a baseline floater with 1:52 left, and the senior guard sent his team into halftime with a 34-30 lead on a 25-foot 3-pointer with two seconds left.

Gurley led all scorers with 17 first-half points, including 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. The Minutemen shot 47 percent in the first half, while Temple shot 38 percent and was led by Aaron Brown's 10 points.

Gurley made back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Minutemen an early seven-point lead, 13-6 with 14:53 remaining in the first half. The senior scored nine of the team's first 16 points while seniors accounted for 14 of those first 16.

Prior to the game, a Senior Night ceremony was held honoring Hashim Bailey, Correia, Gurley, and Matt Hill.

The Minutemen close the regular season on Saturday with a 1 p.m. game at Fordham's Rose Hill Gym against the Rams.