Recap: UConn Loses Big Lead at Temple

PHILADELPHIA – Quenton DeCosey scored 23 points to help Temple come back from a double-digit deficit and beat UConn, 63-58, Thursday night in American Athletic Conference action at the Liacouras Center.

The Huskies, who led by 12 with 5:51 remaining, turned the ball over twice in the final 15.8 seconds to lose their fourth straight to the Owls (14-8, 9-3 AAC).

After DeCosey gave Temple a 61-58 lead with 19.9 seconds left, Rodney Purvis double dribbled to give the ball back to the Owls. DeCosey added two more free throws to extend the lead to 63-58, but UConn (17-7, 7-4) turned the ball right back over to finish the game. The Huskies made seven of their nine turnovers after the break.

Shonn Miller led the Huskies with 15 points and Purvis added 12. It was the fourth straight win for the Owls, who got 15 points from Daniel Dingle and 11 from Devin Coleman.

The Huskies led most of the second half, with Miller scoring 13 points there to help them grab a 54-42 lead with 5:52 left. But UConn managed just one field goal and four total points the rest of the way.

DeCosey’s three-point play with 1:10 left gave Temple its first lead, 59-58, since the half. The Owls made four straight 3-pointers – three from Dingle – on a 12-2 run to cut the UConn lead to 56-54 with 3:43 to play.

Temple was 5-for-10 on 3-pointers in the second half while UConn was just 2-for-8. For the game, the Owls were 9-for-22 while the Huskies were 5-for-17. DeCosey killed the Huskies in the first half with 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting to give Temple a 31-29 lead. The Owls held a 10-2 edge on second-chance points and crushed the Huskies on the boards, 21-14.

The Huskies will be in action next at home when they host the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Gampel Pavilion on Saturday night.