men's basketball coachannounced today the signing of one of the best recruiting classes in his nine seasons at the helm of the nation's sixth winningest program.All four-star recruits according to ESPN.com, 6-4, 175-pound guard Levan "Shawn" Alston (The Haverford School/Haverford, Pa.), 6-10, 220-pound center Ernest Aflakpui (Archbishop Carroll/Accra, Ghana) and 6-5, 165-pound guard Trey Lowe (Ewing/Ewing, NJ) officially signed National Letters of Intent to play at Temple."We are excited to sign three high caliber young men to be part of the Temple Basketball family," said Dunphy. "These are talented young men on the court, who come from wonderful families. They will make for great teammates, and help the program continue its storied history of success."Alston, rated as the 86th-best recruit in this year's class by ESPN, was a second team all-State selection as a junior. Named Inter-Ac co-MVP as a sophomore when he averaged 16.1 points per game, Alston, whose father played for the Owls in the mid-90s, was selected as a first-team All-Inter Ac last season after averaging 16.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game.A 2014 second team all-State selection, Lowe was the third leading scorer in the State of New Jersey last season, averaging 27.8 points, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game in leading Ewing to a 27-5 record and the Group 3 state championship game. As a sophomore, he tallied 22.9 points per game. For his career, he has amassed 1,673 points while connecting on 152 three-pointers.Aflakpui (a-FLAK-poy), who came to Carroll from Accra, Ghana in September 2012, helped lead his team to a 23-5 record and a berth in the quarterfinals of state tournament. A second team all-State selection, the athletic big man averaged 10.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game as a junior. He also earned first team all-Catholic League and third team all-Delco last season.The Owls open the season at the Liacouras Center Friday against American (7:30 p.m./ESPN3/1210 AM WPHT) in a game that is part of the 2014 Northwestern Mutual Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The Temple women host La Salle at 4:30 p.m. Friday in the first game of a doubleheader.Tickets for all Temple men's and women's home games can be purchased via phone at 1-800-298-4200, online at comcastTix.com or in person at the Liacouras Center Box Office.