Temple Escapes Charlotte with 76-73 Triumph in American Conference Opener

Tuesday, December 30

Charlotte, NC

7:00 PM

Temple University

9-5,1-0American

Charlotte

6-8,0-1American

Temple

Charlotte

Photo by: Robin Hsiao

Temple Escapes Charlotte with 76-73 Triumph in American Conference Opener

12.30.25 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

The Owls are riding a five-game winning streak entering 2026.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Holding an eight-point lead with 48 seconds remaining, the Temple University men's basketball team withstood a late Charlotte surge in a 76-73 road victory in the American Conference opener at Halton Arena on Tuesday evening.

The Owls (9-5, 1-0 American) extended their winning streak to five in the league opener and 2025 calendar year finale. The 49ers (6-8, 0-1 American) fell short after earning back-to-back wins to close the non-conference slate.

Jordan Mason (18), Derrian Ford (17), Aiden Tobiason (15) and Gavin Griffiths (13) all finished the night in double figures, combining for 63 of Temple's 76 points (83 percent). Mason's 18 points are a season high for the reigning Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Week.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Temple opened the game strongly from the perimeter, with Tobiason and Griffiths each knocking down 3-pointers for the first six points of the game. Tobiason pushed his total to five with a shot inside to give the Owls a 10-9 lead through five minutes of play.
Ford continued to generate extra points for Temple, converting a contested and-one in the lane to fuel a 7-0 surge that gave the Owls a five-point lead with 12 minutes remaining.
After Charlotte answered with a 6-0 run, Temple regained control with a 3-pointer from Cam Wallace and a tough and-one from Mason to push the lead back to five.
Heading into the final media timeout of the half, Temple built a 10-point advantage courtesy of a key block by Griffiths and another 3-pointer by Tobiason. Ford and Tobiason shared game-high honors with eight points apiece as the Owls took a 36-30 lead into halftime.
The second half opened tightly contested. Temple briefly pushed its lead to 11 behind a Mason finish and a Griffiths 3-pointer before Charlotte responded with an 8-0 run to trim the margin to three five minutes into the half.
The Owls answered again, highlighted by an alley-oop slam from Tobiason, and stretched the lead back to nine with 12 minutes remaining.
The middle stages of the half remained tight, with neither side scoring more than four straight points over the next six minutes. With four minutes left, Temple held a seven-point lead, and Ford led all scorers with 17 points.
Temple grabbed the upper hand in crunch time with a key and-one from Mason to make it an eight-point game with 3:16 remaining. Charlotte again trimmed the deficit to two possessions with two minutes to play.
The 49ers pulled within two on a pair of late 3-pointers in the final minute, cutting the score to 75-73 with 16 seconds left. Mason went 1-for-2 at the foul line, and Charlotte's half-court heave at the buzzer missed, allowing Temple to escape the Queen City with a 76-73 win.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Tobiason recorded five assists, a career high.
Griffiths added seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.
Ford totaled five rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Temple held a 17-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
Temple's five-game winning streak matches the longest in the Adam Fisher-era. The Owls previously posted five consecutive wins in the 2023-24 season, starting with the regular-season finale and continuing with four straight victories in the American Conference Tournament before falling in the title game.
The Owls earned their first win at Halton Arena since a 79-57 victory on Jan. 25, 2012, when both programs were members of the Atlantic 10.
With the win, Temple improves to 6-7 all time in American Conference openers, earning back-to-back victories after downing Wichita State 91-85 at the Liacouras Center last season.
With the victory, Temple finished the 2025 calendar year with 18 wins.

UP NEXT

Temple returns to action in 2026 on Saturday, Jan. 3, when it hosts UTSA at the Liacouras Center. Tipoff is set for noon. The game will air on ESPNU and will also be available on owlsports.com/listen.