Temple Drops Back-and-Forth AAC Matchup to Florida Atlantic, 83-81

Sunday, February 16

Philadelphia, Pa.

12:00 P.M.

Temple University

14-12,6-7AAC

Florida Atlantic

15-10,8-4AAC

Fla. Atlantic

Temple

Photo by: Joshua Kanner

Temple Drops Back-and-Forth AAC Matchup to Florida Atlantic, 83-81

2.16.25 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – Missing the nation's second-leading scorer for the third time in four games, the Temple University men's basketball team could not hang on to a late lead in a heartbreaking 83-81 loss to Florida Atlantic on Sunday afternoon at the Liacouras Center.

Temple (14-12, 6-7 AAC) looks to bounce back at Charlotte on Wednesday. FAU (15-10, 8-4 AAC) registers its fifth consecutive win.

Steve Settle III led the Owls with a game-high 18 points, knocking down half of his 12 field-goal and 3-point attempts. The Glenarden, Md., native also grabbed four rebounds and a steal in 27 minutes on the floor.

HOW IT HAPPENED

In a contest that featured nine lead changes and seven ties, neither team gained significant separation in the opening 20 minutes. Temple took the first two-possession lead at 24-19 with 9:18 left in the first half after a Settle III layup and a Zion Stanford triple.
FAU tied the contest at 26 with a 7-2 run and grabbed a 29-28 lead after free throws from Matas Vokietaitis. The Broad Street Owls countered with a 9-4 run to regain a four-point edge at 37-33. The two Owl squads exchanged free throws late in the half, with Temple clinging to a 38-35 lead at halftime.
FAU sliced its deficit to a single point twice early in the second half before Temple scored nine consecutive points to take a game-high 10-point lead at 51-41.
Temple was able to withstand its scoreboard advantage for the time being, despite a 7-2 FAU run. Leading 75-68 with 3:57 to go, FAU connected on 4-of-5 shots from the floor and kept the Cherry and White off the scoreboard to take a three-point lead at 78-75 with 18 seconds on the clock.
Forced to foul, Temple cut the deficit to as close as one with five seconds remaining, but the Owls' 3-point shot as time expired bounced off the glass in the 83-81 FAU win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Temple has shown its depth with and without Jamal Mashburn Jr., registering five double-figure scorers for the third consecutive contest. Joining Settle III with 10-plus points were Quante Berry (14), Shane Dezonie (11), Elijah Gray (11) and Babatunde Durodola (10). Mashburn Jr. is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Dezonie also contributed three assists and five rebounds and set a new career high with five steals.
Durodola made the most of his 11 minutes on the floor despite foul trouble, making 4-of-6 shots from the floor and both attempts from the line. The freshman from Canada posted double-digit points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career after his 10-point performance against Tulsa.
Settle III has now recorded at least 13 points in seven consecutive games and has reached 11 in eight of the past nine. During the six-game stretch starting against Charlotte on Jan. 28, the 6-foot-10 forward is averaging 16.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals while shooting 47.6% from the floor and 45.2% from 3-point range.
FAU – which entered the game ranked fourth in the AAC and 79th nationally in 3-point field-goal percentage (36.0%) – was held to just two makes on its first 21 attempts from long distance. The Floridian Owls found their groove late, making their final three 3-point shots to aid the comeback.
FAU was led in scoring by Kaleb Glenn (17 pts.), Tre Carroll (16 pts.), Leland Walker (12 pts.), Vokietaitis (11 pts.) and Niccolo Moretti (11 pts.).

UP NEXT

Temple readies for a two-game AAC road swing, first heading to Charlotte on Wednesday evening.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. between the Owls and 49ers on ESPN+ inside Halton Arena.