In a tough battle between conference rivals, the McLennan Highlanders fell to the Temple Leopards 107-103.
McLennan was in control early on, opening the game on an 11-0, including five points from Cameron Crocket and four from Daylon Dickerson. Temple responded with a 6-0 run to cut the Highlander lead to five with 15:42 to play in the first half. McLennan lead by six, 26-20, midway through the half and used a 12-0 run to pull away to an 18-point lead, 38-20, with 7:33 to go. The Highlander lead would be 19, 46-27, with just over four minutes left in the half. That's when the Leopards began to rally, using an 8-0 run to pull within 11, 49-38. Temple would pull within eight but the Highlanders were able to extend it back to double digits at intermission, 56-45.
The Highlanders led by 13, 60-47, with just under 19 minutes to play. Temple rallied once again, using a 17-4 run over the next four minutes to tie the game at 64. McLennan's Antwone Gonzales went on a 5-0 run on his own to put the Highlanders back on top, 69-64. McLennan continued to hold the five-point lead at 71-66 but a 7-0 Temple run gave the Leopards the two-point advantage at 73-71 with 11:23 to play. It was McLennan's turn to rally, and the Crockett, Dickerson and Nick Shogbonyo combine to put the Highlanders back up by 11 with 8:31 to play, 86-77. Once again, the Leopards rallied, tying the game at 93 with 4:13 to go. Temple took the lead with a pair of Eino Montin free throws but it was quickly erased by a Crockett dunk on the next possession, 95-95. Temple pulled away, leading by five, 104-99, with 33 seconds to play. Dickerson drained a long 3-pointer to pull the Highlanders within two, 104-102. Montin added a free throw for the Leopards, 105-102. Dickerson was fouled on a 3-point shot for the Highlanders with 3.59 seconds on the clock but went 1-3 from the line, 105-103. Theo Grant then added a pair of free throws for Temple to secure the win.
Antwone Gonzales and Nick Shogbonyo led McLennan with 24 points each. Cameron Crockett added 21, and Daylon Dickerson scored 19.
Temple: Camren Roper 0 0-0 0; Eino Montin 4 3-4 14; Elcid Smith 1 0-0 3; Theo Grant 12 18-21 44; Ja'Rayl Peoples 2 1-2 5; Syncere Shaw 0 0-0 0; Desmond Green 4 0-0 8; Andrew Iyamah 4 0-2 8; Caleb Gaston 2 0-0 4; Henry Sanchez-Perez 0 2-2 2; Jacob Taitte 6 3-5 19; Totals: 35 27-36 107.
McLennan: Daylon Dickerson 7 3-8 19; Nick Shogbonyo 9 6-6 24; Jaden Juarez 1 0-0 2; Antwone Gonzales 9 5-5 24; Landon Anderson 2 0-0 5; Cameron Crockett 9 3-4 21; Jaden Walker 3 1-1 8; Totals: 40 18-24 103.
Halftime score: McLennan 56. Temple 45; 3-pointers: Temple 10 (Taitte 4, Montin 3, Grant 2, Smith 1), McLennan 5 (Dickerson 2, Gonzales 1, Anderson 1, Walker 1); Total fouls: Temple 21, McLennan 25; Fouled out: Anderson (McLennan); Record: McLennan 17-10 (4-7).
