Wildcats hang on: Temple builds big lead then staves off Ellison for 62-54 victory

Ray Swindle

Daniel Taylor

Telegram Sports Writer

Temple head coach Joey Martin preaches to his team each day in practice that no matter what happens over the course of a game, good defense will always prevail.

That proved true for the Wildcats as they fought off a late surge from Class 5A foe Killeen Ellison to come away with a 62-54 win in non-district action Tuesday night at Wildcat Gym.

Rodney Nelson had 22 points — including a pair of clutch free throws — for Temple (4-0) and Jamarion Carlton added 13, six of which came in the fourth quarter. Ellison’s Jacob Tolbert scored 10 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth, in which the Eagles (3-1) outscored the Wildcats 21-13.

Tolbert’s 3-pointer from the left wing cut Temple’s lead to 57-54 with 1:46 remaining. Nelson then made one of two free throws, and Carlton was fouled on the putback attempt. He also made one of two, which put the Wildcats up 59-54 with 1:31 to go.

After Ellison’s Sean Parks missed a 3, Nelson went to the line, made the first and missed the second but got the rebound and was fouled again with 43.7 seconds left. After making both attempts and putting Temple up 62-54, Parks missed another 3, and the Wildcats dribbled out the clock to escape.

“I trust (Nelson) and what he does,” Martin said. “He gives a lot of energy and he made the right play at the right time, so I really appreciate him.”

The Eagles trailed 48-33 going into the final quarter, but a layup and a 3 from Tolbert and a layup by Da’Wayne Castille fueled a quick 7-0 run that forced a Temple timeout with 5:53 to go and the Wildcats leading 48-40.

Carlton scored four straight points that pushed the gap to 52-40, before Parks’ scored four straight to make it 52-44. J’Caleb Martin answered for Temple with a 3, but Tolbert hit a mid-range jumper and Parks drained a 3 as the Eagles eventually got as close as 57-54 with 1:46 to go before the Wildcats closed it out.

“Man, I keep telling (them) if nothing else, we’ve got to rely on our defense,” Joey Martin said. “(Tolbert) came up with some huge shots, but we made plays down the stretch that we had to, and then we knocked down some free throws to keep our lead the way it was.”

Temple got out to quick start and outscored the Eagles 14-4 in the first quarter on its way to a 31-18 halftime lead. Ellison cut into its deficit early in the third with a 6-2 run that made it 33-24, but a 9-0 answer by the Wildcats padded their cushion to 42-24 midway through the quarter.

The Eagles’ came out of a timeout and went on a 7-0 run, but 3s from Ramauhn Brown and Houston Martin pushed it back to a 15-point lead by the end of the third. Brown finished with 13 points, seven of which came in the third.

Ellison’s Chandler Miles finished with 13 points, seven of which came in the third quarter. Nelson had 13 of his 22 in the first half.

“We just say it in practice every day, just follow the game plan,” Nelson said. “If we stick to the script we’re going to win the game like we did tonight.” dtaylor@tdtnews.com