Highlanders drop close game to Temple in conference opener

In a hard-fought battle that that came down to the final seconds, the McLennan Highlanders fell to the Temple Leopards 64-63 on the road.
 
Dillon Gooding began the scoring for the Highlanders with a nothing-but-net 3-pointer from the elbow. Alex Gager put the Leopards on the board less than 30 seconds later. It Baskets were few in the first 10 minutes of play game was tied at 13 with 10:26 to go in the half. Temple took the one-point lead on a Justin Collins free throw but McLennan responded with an 11-0 run over the next three minutes to break the game open 24-14. The Highlanders pushed the lead to 14, 35-21, and held the 11-point advantage at the break.
 
Chris Pryor put McLennan back up by 14 with a 3-pointer from the corner to start the second half scoring. The Highlanders led by 12, 53-41, with 11:07 to play. Temple began to rally, using a 14-2 run to tie the game at 55 with seven minutes to go. The Leopards took the lead on a Kino Thompson layup with 5:23 on the clock, 57-55, but a Gooding jumper quickly tied the game. The game was tied at 59 with 4:19 to play. A Collins bucket and one gave Temple the 3-point lead at 62-59 and a Jaedaun Slack free throw extended the lead to four. A bucket by Nehemiah Nuckolls bucket and a slam by Justin Wilson for the Highlanders tied the game at 63 with 44 seconds to play. Thompson went 1-2 from the free throw gave Temple the 64-63 lead with 27.5 seconds on the clock. Multiple shots bounced off the iron for the Highlanders in the final seconds allowing the Leopards to steal the victory.
 
Chris Pryor led McLennan with 12 points and Diego Gonzalez added 10.

Temple 64, McLennan 63
McLennan: Forte Prater 3 0-0 7; Dillon Gooding 2 0-0 5; CJ Hall 4 0-0 9; Rommell Williams 0 0-0 0; Nehemiah Nuckolls 8 0-2 8; Chris Pryor 5 0-0 12; Diego Gonzalez 5 0-2 10; Kirk Smith Jr. 0 0-0 0; Javani Brown 0 3-4 3; Justin Wilson 4 1-4 9; Totals: 27 4-12 63.
 
Temple: Quenton Coleman 4 4-6 16; Louis Norton 0 0-0 0; Kino Thompson 5 2-3 13; Dylan Magloire 0 0-0 0; Justin Collins 3 2-3 8; Jaedaun Slack 3 4-7 12; Sherrod Whitley 0 0-0 0; Jordan Okonji 0 0-0 0; Alex Gager 2 1-2 5; Maison Adeleye 3 4-4 10; Totals: 20 17-25 64.
 
3-pointers:5 (Pryor 2, Prater 1, Gooding 1, Hall 1), Temple 7 (Coleman 4, Slack 2, Thompson 1); Total fouls: McLennan 22, Temple 15; Fouled out: Temple (Slack); Record: McLennan 13-3 (0-1).