Owls Extend Win Streak to Seven in 75-67 Victory Over ECU

Wednesday, January 7

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 PM

Temple University

11-5,3-0American

East Carolina

5-10,0-2American

East Carolina

Temple

Photo by: Paige Wisehaupt

Owls Extend Win Streak to Seven in 75-67 Victory Over ECU

1.7.26 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Gavin Griffiths set a season high in points for the second straight game, leading Temple with 24 points

PHILADELPHIA – After a strong first half, the Temple men's basketball team built an 18-point second-half lead and weathered a late surge from East Carolina in a 75-67 win Wednesday night inside the Liacouras Center.

The Owls (11-5, 3-0 American) extended their winning streak to seven, their longest since the 2014-15 season. The Pirates (5-10, 0-2 American) dropped their third straight.

Gavin Griffiths set a season high in points for the second straight game, leading Temple with 24 points (9-for-16 FG, 5-for-7 3PT). The reigning conference and Big 5 Player of the Week added six rebounds, two assists and four blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Temple scored the first four points of the game with ease, as Jordan Mason hit a midrange jumper before a defensive stop led to a wide-open layup for Griffiths. The Owls led through the opening six minutes, with Griffiths pacing the offense with six points.
The game remained tight for much of the half, with the margin not extending past seven through the first 10 minutes. Temple attacked the paint early, totaling 12 interior points and three trips to the line in that span.
The Owls pushed their lead to a then-game-high 13 as Griffiths continued his strong stretch of play with a perimeter jumper, later taking a 15-point advantage into halftime.
ECU opened the second half with the first five points to trim the deficit to 10 before Mason answered with a 3-pointer. Out of the first media timeout, Griffiths and Masiah Gilyard each connected from deep as Temple hit four straight 3-pointers to extend the lead to a game-high 18.
ECU responded with a 7-0 run to cut the margin back to 10 midway through the half and later brought it to as few as eight. A late push trimmed the deficit to five with 4:43 remaining, but Temple held firm, closing it out with timely shooting from Griffiths and clutch free throws to seal the 75-67 victory.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Along with Griffiths, Derrian Ford scored 18 points and Mason added 11, giving Temple three players in double figures.
Ford returned to the lineup after missing the UTSA game due to injury.
Mason contributed five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Gilyard added six points and five rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.
With the win, Temple has won seven straight, its longest streak since 2014-15.
The Owls improved to 3-0 in league play, their best conference start since 2022-23.
A total of 63 percent of the game's 142 points were scored by four players. Former Owl Jordan Riley led all scorers with 29 for ECU, while Gio Emejuru added 19. Griffiths (24) and Ford (18) combined for 42 for Temple.
Temple now leads the all-time series with ECU 13-7 and is 9-1 against the Pirates in North Philadelphia.

REC SPEC THE FACTS

Griffiths finished with 24 points, six rebounds and four blocks, leading the Owls in all three categories. He totaled 23 points on Saturday against UTSA.
With four blocks, he became the first Owl with at least four blocks in consecutive games since Obi Enechionyia in 2016-17.
Over his last two games, Griffiths is averaging 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 5.5 blocks, 2.0 steals while shooting 48.6 (17-35) percent from the floor and 52.4 percent from long range (11-21).

UP NEXT

The Owls will next have a week off before traveling south to the Volunteer State for a matchup with defending American Conference champion Memphis on Wednesday, Jan. 14. Tip-off against the Tigers is slated for 8 p.m. EST with the action streaming on ESPN+ and available on owlsports.com/listen.