Fabian White Jr. scored 15 points and took 14 rebounds as short-handed No. 12 Houston outlasted host Temple 66-61 on Sunday in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams in Philadelphia.
The Cougars (12-2, 1-0 AAC) built a 16-point lead late in the first half and were up by 11 at halftime before Temple fought back to within a point early in the second. Houston rebuilt a 10-point advantage, but the Owls again responded to pull to 59-57 on Nick Jourdain’s 3-pointer with 3:53 remaining.
The final minutes went to Houston as Ramon Walker Jr. hit a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws, Taze Moore had a clutch steal with 26 seconds to play and Reggie Chaney canned two pressure free throws to help the Cougars survive.
Jamal Shead added 14 points for Houston, which won for the eighth time its past nine games. Walker scored 13 points and Moore hit for 10. The Cougars played without Kyler Edwards, who suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain late in Houston’s win over Texas State in its most recent game.
Damian Dunn led the Owls (7-6, 0-2) with 14 points and Jourdain scored 12.
Both Houston and Temple were scheduled to play earlier this week but had games against Cincinnati and Villanova, respectively, postponed because of COVID-19.
The Cougars scored the game’s first eight points and led 18-5 after a three-point play by Shead at the 14:26 mark of the first half. Temple bounced back, cutting its deficit to four points after Jeremiah Williams’ 3-pointer with 7:12 to play in the half.
But Houston produced a 12-0 run over the ensuing four minutes to take a 36-20 lead. Hicks’ 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining allowed the Owls to pull within 40-29 at halftime.
Shead led all scorers with 12 points at the break while White added 11 for the Cougars, who outshot Temple 46.9 percent to 39.1 percent over the first 20 minutes of play. Dunn led the Owls with six points at halftime.
Temple opened the second half with a 12-2 run that brought it to within 42-41 with 15:30 remaining. But the Owls would never see the lead as the Cougars regained their stride.
–Field Level Media