Road Warriors: Men's Basketball Tops UCF, 77-70, to Win Fifth Straight Road Game

Saturday, January 28

Orlando, Fla.

12:00 P.M.

Temple University

14-9,8-2AAC

UCF

13-8,4-5AAC

OT 1

Temple

UCF

Photo by: Andrew Kim

Road Warriors: Men's Basketball Tops UCF, 77-70, to Win Fifth Straight Road Game

1.28.23 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

ORLANDO – Khalif Battle scored nine of his game-high 26 points in overtime to lead Temple to a 77-70 overtime win over UCF Saturday at the Addition Financial Arena. The Owls won their fourth straight game to improve to 14-9, 8-2 in American Athletic Conference play while UCF lost its fourth straight and is now 13-8, 4-5.

Temple won its fifth straight road game to open conference play. It is the first time a Temple team won its first five road games since the 1987-88 squad went a perfect 18-0 in Atlantic 10 play (9-0 on the road).

It was a wonderful homecoming for Jamille Reynolds, who played two seasons for the Knights. In just his second game back after missing 10 games due to a thumb injury, he scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbed five rebounds. Hysier Miller added 13 points for Temple. Ithiel Horton and Lahat Thioune led the Knights with 13 points each.

First Half
> Horton scored seven straight points in a 12-2 run to give UCF a 20-10 lead with just under 11 minutes to play.
> Battle would lead the Owls back, scoring nine points in a 13-1 run to give Temple a 27-25 lead with 5:09 on the clock.
> After a three-pointer by C.J. Kelly gave the Knights the lead, 28-27, the Owls closed the half on an 8-2 run to head into the locker room with a 36-29 lead.
> After making just four-of-16 from the field over the first 11 minutes, the Owls hit nine of their last 12 from the field with Battle scoring all 11 points in the run.
> Reynolds was also a force in his return to his former home, making four-of-five from the field for nine points.

Second Half
> UCF used a 10-2 run to retake the lead 45-44 on a Darius Johnson jumper with 13:29 on the clock.
> The game would remain within one possession as neither team could pull away until a Dunn jumper in the lane and two Battle free throws with 48 seconds left gave the Owls a 62-58 lead.
> Two free throws by Darius Johnson with 39.1 seconds left made it 62-60.
> Following a Temple turnover, Johnson was fouled with 2.4 seconds to play. He missed both but was able to get the rebound and was fouled with one second to play. He then made two to send the game into overtime.

Overtime
> Johnson banked in a three from the right corner to give the Knights a quick 65-62 lead but the Owls would answer quickly.
> Reynolds made one of two free throws then slammed home a dunk to ignite a 10-0 run, giving Temple a 72-65 lead.
> The Knights would score five straight points to cut the margin to a basket, 72-70, with 20 seconds to play, but Battle would make four straight free throws and Jourdain added another to seal the win.

Next Up
> Temple will have an eight-day break before a rematch against #3 Houston on Sunday, February 5 at the Liacouras Center. Tip time is 6 p.m. with the game being televised by ESPN2 and broadcast on 1210 AM WPHT.