Of all Temple’s transfer portal and recruiting additions, one stood a bit more than the rest.

And he saved the Owls Monday night in their season opener.

Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored a game-high 26 points and helped Temple erase an early 10-point deficit en route to an 81-70 win over Sacred heart at the Liacouras Center.

A shorthanded Owls team that played without two of its other key transfer portal additions in point guard Lynn Greer III and forward Elijah Gray still trailed by as many as six almost eight minutes into the second half before a 17-3 allowed Temple to take control of the game.

All of the points in that run came from transfer portal additions. Shane Dezonie, who came to Temple from Vanderbilt prior to the 2022-23 season, got it started with a three-point play, and Mashburn had five of his points in that stretch. Point guard Quante Berry, who transferred to Temple prior to last season, hit a three during the run, and Penn State transfer Jameel Brown contributed a pair of threes of his own.

“Tough, gritty win,” second-year head coach Adam Fisher said. “None of these are easy, but I’m really proud of the resilience of our team. When you have 10 new faces, you’re gonna see some hiccups, but I thought our guys stuck together.”

Forward Steve Settle III and Brown joined Mashburn in double-figure scoring with 16 and 11 points, respectively. For Sacred Heart (0-1), forward Tanner Thomas and guard Amiri Stewart, who played his high school ball at nearby Archbishop Carroll, led the way with 22 and 13 points, respectively.

Mashburn dazzles

With his father - former NBA All-Star Jamal Mashburn - watching in the building, Mashburn Jr. didn’t waste any time showing why the league’s coaches voted him a preseason all-American Athletic Conference first-team selection. He shot 10 of 16 overall, including 5 of 7 from three-point range, and added three steals and two assists.

After working through a thumb injury last season, Mashburn sustained a Jones fracture after the season while playing a pickup game, he told OwlScoop.com last month. He rehabbed the injury over the summer at home and didn’t look like he missed a beat Monday night.

“I felt good. It felt good just to get a win,” Mashburn said. “I wasn’t walking four months ago. I’m just blessed to be here and playing again.”

Mashburn had three games last season in which he scored more than 20 points. He’s already a third of the way toward reaching that landmark again after Monday night. And after his 26-point performance, Mashburn is now one of four active players in the NCAA with 100 double-digit performances.

“He’s a scorer,” Fisher said. “I don't think he knew how many points he had. He just cares that we won the game.”

Turnover troubles

Temple clearly missed Greer, who still must sit out eight more games due to NCAA rules infractions that occurred while he was a player at St. Joe’s. The Owls had 16 turnovers and allowed the Pioneers to score 24 points off those turnovers.

Settle and Berry each had four turnovers, while Mashburn coughed up three. And Sacred Heart outrebounded Temple, 40-34.

“Disappointed,” Fisher began. “Our game goal is we want to have 10 or less [turnovers.] I was disappointed in our rebounding and our turnovers, so I’m going to go back and watch the film and figure out why those things occurred. Credit to [Sacred Heart], I thought they were very good in their ball screen coverage.”

Forward thinking

While Mashburn’s 26 points got the most attention, Temple’s forwards contributed a great deal to the win, too.

Settle scored 16 points in 36 minutes on 5 of 9 shooting to go with seven rebounds, six rebounds and three blocks.

“I still think I got to get a little better,” Settle said. “I need to make shots a little bit tougher, but I feel like that’ll come as we continue to play.”

In the absence of Gray, who is currently in concussion protocol according to Fisher, freshman forwards Babatunde Durodola and Dillion Battie each saw playing time, with Durodola getting the start, along with Mashburn, Berry, Matteo Picarelli and Settle.

Durodola, a mid-August addition to Temple’s 2024 class after he reclassified from the 2025 class, became the first freshman forward to start the season opener for Temple since Mark Williams in 2013. Durodola finished with four points and three rebounds, while Battie added four points in his seven minutes in the first half.

“I think it’s really hard to start as a freshman, Babatunde coming in and starting,” Fisher said. “They went smaller, so we adjusted a little bit. I thought Dillion gave us some great minutes in the first half. He went out and guarded and got two buckets inside for us.”

Up next

Temple will play next on Friday against Monmouth in the Jersey Jam at Trenton’s CURE Insurance Arena. The Hawks lost their season opener Monday night in an 81-57 setback at Michigan State. The game will be televised on ESPN+ at 6 p.m.