But when the Leopards finally shook off their cold-shooting spell, the host Rebels were in big trouble.
Three 3-point baskets by Thomas Anguiano provided the spark as No. 16-ranked TC outscored Hill 50-20 during a 15-minute stretch to overtake the Rebels for an 86-80 win Saturday, moving the Leopards within a half-game of the Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference lead.
Earlier, the Temple women overcame the absence of two key guards to roll to a convincing 75-62 win over Hill, keeping the Lady Leopards in prime position for the NJCAA Region V Tournament.
TC men 86, Hill 80
After Temple recorded consecutive wins over fellow conference contenders Grayson County, Collin County and Weatherford, coach Kirby Johnson said his Leopards couldn’t afford to slip up and give first-place Weatherford any extra breathing room.
Then Temple went out and missed 28 of its first 33 field-goal attempts as Hill - a 97-92 overtime loser at TC a month ago - took a 32-12 lead with 8 minutes remaining in the first half.
“For a long time, things looked bleak,” said Johnson, whose team is 22-2 overall and 7-2 in the NTJCAC. “We got off to a very cold start and I was thinking, ‘This is not the start we wanted.’ We knew this was Hill’s last hurrah and we knew they’d be pumped up, and early on we didn’t match their intensity.”
But then Anguiano made three 3-pointers in a short span, and TC’s press defense began to create turnovers and easy baskets. The Leopards cut their deficit to 41-36 by halftime, and they overtook the Rebels (12-13, 3-6) for a 54-53 edge on Anguiano’s 3.
Temple pushed its lead to 62-52 with 13 minutes left, then staved off a Hill push that cut it to 81-78 to preserve the comeback win.
“I told our guys, ‘These are the type of games that win championships,’” said Johnson, whose team seeks its third conference title in the last four seasons.
Three Leopards recorded double-doubles against Hill. J.B. Conley produced 17 points and 11 rebounds, Wes Dipprey had 16 points and 13 boards and Anguiano finished with 15 points and 11 assists.
Temple will play at winless Ranger on Wednesday. The Leopards’ next home game is against rival McLennan on Feb. 18.
TC women 75, Hill 62
The Lady Leopards were given some bad news early this week, but they responded with a big win.
“It was a very physical game and we were glad to escape with a tough road win,” TC coach Kim Sebek said.
It was tougher than it should have been.
Temple (12-11 overall, 6-4 NTJCAC) got news on Thursday that reserve point guard Kristel Munson would be lost for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and starting shooting guard Alex Pinney, who had played some at point in Munson’s absence, missed her second game with an illness.
That situation forced Temple High School product Shondria Combs to play the entire game at point. She responded with 18 points, eight assists and seven steals.
“We had to do some different things,” Sebek said. “We should get Alex back this week, but we’ll still be short-handed without Kristel.”
Even short two guards, Temple was able to keep up an up-tempo game against the Lady Rebels (4-16, 1-9) and pulled out to a 42-31 halftime lead.
“I don’t think we know how to slow it down,” Sebek said. “The girls do what they need to do as a team to get things done.”
Foul trouble and some possible fatigue might have hindered Temple in the second half, though, as Hill cut the lead to 56-53 midway through the half, relying on the 3-point shooting of Megan Cullum, who finished with 12 points.
“When Andrea Johnson was guarding her she was able to slow her down,” Sebek said. “But we had to take (Johnson) out with three fouls and the reserve guards had trouble defending her. When we put Johnson back in we were fine.”
Post Marisa Rauss produced 18 points and 11 rebounds for Temple, Julisa Mitchell had 12 points and Mareta Bailey added 11.
Temple will be at Ranger on Wednesday and then host Cisco on Saturday.
