PHILADELPHIA — The only thing Adam Fisher could do was watch as Deuce Jones made a contested three at the buzzer in front of the entire city of Philadelphia in the Big 5 Classic third place game. It was a devastating
loss that dropped Fisher’s Temple Owls to 4-5 and a third consecutive defeat.
That was nearly two months ago. Now, his cadence is a little bit different.
On Saturday night, Temple controlled the pace and flow of a game for 40 minutes against a team ranked nearly 100 spots higher than it by KenPom, moving just a game behind first-place Charlotte. The Owls took down South Florida inside the Liacouras Center, 79-78, thanks to an emerging star and the unlikeliest of heroes.
Swish Gilyard, a Manhattan transfer who has played less than 40% of Temple’s minutes, was the best player on the floor in the first half. He dictated where the ball went on both ends with his presence and physicality from the guard spot, scoring 13 points and grabbing four offensive rebounds. Sophomore Aiden Tobiason dropped in a mesmerizing 22 on 9-for-16 from the field. Whenever South Florida made a run, Tobiason had the response. That’s starting to become just another night for him, as he’s put in five straight games with at least 15 points.
But when South Florida made its final push, spurred on by sharpshooter Joseph Pinion, it was Mohamed Keita, the little-used third big man who delivered the fatal blow. First, he made two free throws to make it 77-76 and then tapped in a Derrian Ford miss that functioned as the eventual game-winner.
It puts Temple at 14-8 through 22 games, and right back at 6-3 through nine American Conference games. That’s where Temple was last year, but Fisher is hoping for better than the six-game losing streak that followed a season ago.
“We all know how crushing of a defeat [the Charlotte loss] was,” Fisher said. “We played well but not well enough to win that game. But the response, we came back [tonight], had a great attitude in film session Thursday and had a great practice yesterday. The attention to detail was fantastic. I think these guys are enjoying it as we turn that page to February.”
Ford, averaging a team-high 18.0 PPG, has quickly become the Owls defacto offensive lead since arriving on North Broad Street this offseason. Not only is he 87th in the nation in minutes share and top-380 in both percentage of possession and percentage of shots, but he gets to the free throw line at an elite rate, 175th best by KenPom.
The days of being a secondary scorer off the bench at Arkansas State seemed so far away in a matchup against his former head coach, Bryan Hodgson. As Ford poured in 18 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished three assists, his performance provided a reminder of just how much he’s improved under Fisher’s guidance.
But the biggest emergence this season has been the sophomore leap of Tobiason, who started 22 out of 27 games as a freshman and averaged just 4.8 PPG. He’s now played every game this season for the Owls and is proving one of the most efficient scorers in the American, ranked 210th in true shooting percentage and 337th in effective field goal percentage.
Fisher claims he’s been one of the best kept secrets until now, with his development was on full display in Saturday night’s win as he dropped 14 points in the second half alone. Tobiason credits a lot of that growth to the work he was able to put in over the offseason with Temple’s staff and Fisher is hopeful that relationship will pay dividends come transfer portal season.
“We’ve got to be careful with the nice things we say about players because the transfer portal comes so he needs more work and needs to be back,” Fisher joked.
The all-around play of former top-100 prospect and Rutgers transfer Gavin Griffiths has been a significant part of Temple winning nine of its last 12 games as well. He never quite found his footing in two separate high-major stints but is flourishing in a new role for the Owls as a 6-foot-8 utility man, 3-point sniper and two-way menace.
Flashback to a Jan. 3 win over UTSA where Griffiths had 23 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a ridiculous seven blocked shots to defeat the Roadrunners, 76-57. In addition to sitting 37th nationally in block percentage, he’s ranked in the top-500 for both effective field goal percentage and turnover rate.
And last but certainly not least is the playmaking catalyst for the 112th most efficient offense in the nation: Illinois-Chicago transfer Jordan Mason. Managing a career-high 4.3 APG has him 251st in assist rate, but he’s shown some notable improvements with his scoring too as the Owls fourth contributing averaging double-digits.
In a massive road upset on Dec. 30, Temple beating first place Charlotte 76-73, Mason’s team-leading 18 points on a couple last second free throws were the only difference between the Owls and 49ers.
All four have taken massive leaps in development over the course of this season, now lifting the Owls to a share of third place in the American with Saturday’s win.
“I think our staff does an excellent job of getting our guys in the gym and coming in with a purpose,” Fisher said. “It’s a great credit to these guys because they want to be in the gym. This isn’t a group where you’ve got to get them in there. It’s almost like ‘hey, you’ve gotta go home and rest.’”
Though beating out a highly ranked South Florida team provides a good litmus test, Temple has had its struggles this season and there’s lots of tough competition on the horizon. Trips to Wichita State, Florida Atlantic and Tulsa will all be circled on the calendar for Fisher and Co. with UAB and Tulane set to visit the Liacouras Center over the next month.
But the Owls have been making strides all season long, relentlessly unwavering in the face of adversity or hardship, of which they’ve faced plenty this year. Ultimately, it’s the relationships forged amidst all the adversity that makes Fisher so confident this group will continue to improve heading toward March.
“Guys stepped up,” he said. “I’m just so proud, and they’ve earned it. They’ve now built that bond, that trust. That’s a great South Florida team with a lot of weapons, averaging in the 90s. So, against a great opponent, I’m really proud of our guys.”
