Dingle doing his best work in big games for Temple

When Temple has needed a big shot or some type of spark this season, the ball usually goes to leading scorer and senior guard Quenton DeCosey.

But when the Owls, down 12 points late in the second half, needed big shot(s) and a spark Thursday night against UConn, they came courtesy of Daniel Dingle.

The redshirt junior wing guard nailed a trio of three-pointers in a span of less than two minutes late in the second half that helped Temple quickly erase the Huskies’ 12-point lead and key a 21-4 game-closing run in Thursday’s 63-58 victory at the Liacouras Center.

“I was trying to help us get back in the game,” Dingle said. “My confidence was high. After practice, me and Quenton put up shots every day. So I’m putting in the work and I got lucky tonight.”

It was a career night for Dingle in more ways than one. His 15 points were a career high, eclipsing the 14-point marks he set against Cincinnati and SMU earlier this season. His four treys were also a career high.

“He stepped up and hit those last three threes and I’m really very proud of him because he’s a good human being and real good teammate,” Temple head coach Fran Dunphy said. “I’m just so happy for Dan Dingle with the way he shot those last threes like no problem, they’re going down — which they did.”

Dingle entered Thursday’s crucial conference matchup averaging just four points per game in an average of 18 minutes on the floor. But the Bronx native was so effective against UConn that Dunphy kept him on the floor for 30 minutes.

Before Thursday, what many Temple fans most recalled about Dingle’s season was his inexplicable late foul that cost the Owls a 67-65 decision at Memphis on Jan.13.

On that play, Dingle went for a steal off an inbound play after Josh Brown tied the game in its waning seconds. But Dingle missed the steal and instead fouled Ricky Tarrant Jr. The Owls were in the penalty, so the Tigers were awarded two free throws, and Tarrant knocked them down to win the game.

Despite that series of events, DeCosey said Dingle never wavered.

“The big thing with Dan is just confidence,” DeCosey said. “I, myself, know he’s a great player. And now he’s starting to show everybody else he can be a great player and how versatile he is.”

Dingle’s stellar performance Thursday night was a long time coming for a player who has experienced a few bumps in the road during his time at Temple.

After playing in 10 games his freshman year of 2012-13, Dingle played in just 10 the following season before tearing the meniscus in his right knee and being granted a medical redshirt. He came back last season and averaged just 3.6 points per game in 36 games, including 12 starts.

With freshman center Ernest Aflakpui still out with a sprained knee, Dingle made his fifth start Thursday, and he’s making a case to stay in that role.

“It’s just his confidence,” DeCosey said of Dingle. “His confidence was very high tonight and he played great.”

Dingle has played his best in the games that have meant the most. In a Dec. 29 upset win at then-No. 22 Cincinnati, Dingle dropped 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting. And in Temple’s upset of then-No. 8 and previously undefeated SMU, he again dropped 14 points.

Those two games and Thursday’s 15-point outburst against UConn are his only three double-digit scoring outputs of the season. Take away those three games and his season high would be seven points.

Dingle found it tough to explain.

“I just play,” he said. “Each game, I take the opponent the same way. I just so out there and whatever happens, happens.”

So a Temple team that had previously been maddeningly inconsistent has won four in a row to stand at 15-8 overall and atop the American Athletic Conference standings with a 9-3 league record. If the Owls want to remain in the conversation for an at-large NCAA Tournament berth, they’ll have to avoid bad losses down the stretch, and they’ll be tested in that area when USF (5-20, 2-10), the American’s last-place team, comes to the Liacouras Center Sunday for a 3 p.m. game. Dunphy hopes what Dingle did Thursday can continue to happen over the last seven games of the regular season as the Owls continue their surge toward March.

“That would be great if we can count on him for the last seven to step up and do what he did on a night like (Thursday),” Dunphy said.