The 24th ranked Grayson Vikings rebounded from a slow start and a double digit deficit, took a double digit lead of their own and withstood a late rally to take down the visiting Temple Leopards 72-67 on Wednesday, Jan. 14  to start 2-0 in conference play.
Grayson fell behind 12-0 early on. They were held without a field goal until Fia Filoialli drove for an uncontested layup with 4:14 left in the opening quarter. That jumpstarted the offense, who closed the quarter with an 8-2 scoring run, to pull within 14-8.
The offense continued to climb back into the game as the second quarter began. Jaycee Ingram capped a 9-3 scoring drive with a layup, drew the foul and sank the free throw to draw the Vikings within one point; 17-16. Filoialli and Ingram continued going right at the Temple defense, both converting layups to give the Vikings their first lead of the game. Grayson continued to maintain their slim lead, answering everything Temple threw at them. Susan Fahnbulleh gave them some breathing room with a late three pointer to help Grayson take a 35-31 into the half.
In the third quarter, the script was flipped with the Vikings opening up a double digit lead. Fahnbulleh gave them their largest lead of the game with a three pointer to take a 62-47 lead going into the final quarter.
The offense cooled a bit to start the fourth quarter. Grayson was held without a field goal for the first 3:45 as Temple used an 8-0 scoring run to cut the lead to seven points. Madison Martin converted a short jumper to get it back to a nine point lead. After a Temple score, Filoialli hit a contested jumper in the paint to give the Vikings a 67-59 lead. Temple again cut it to six, but Ingram came up with a huge offensive rebound and layup for a 69-61 eight point lead with 1:21 to play. Temple cut it to 69-64 with 45 seconds to play, but the Vikings made their free throws with Fahnbulleh converting and then Martin converting a pair to secure the victory.
Filoialii (20 points) and Fahnbulleh (10 points) combined for 30 points in the win, shooting a combined 6-11 from deep. Ingram finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Dree Johnson had a near double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.
The Vikings hit the road for a showdown with Cisco on Saturday, Jan. 17. Tip-off is set for 2pm.