Second-Half Surge Lifts Tulane Past Temple, 77-66

Wednesday, February 11

New Orleans, La.

7:30 PM

Temple University

15-9,7-4American

Tulane

14-10,5-6American

Temple

Tulane

Photo by: Robin Hsiao

Second-Half Surge Lifts Tulane Past Temple, 77-66

2.11.26 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

NEW ORLEANS – After heading into halftime tied for the first time this season, the Temple University men's basketball team (15-9, 7-4) was unable to carry that momentum into the second half, falling 77-66 to Tulane (14-11, 5-7) on Wednesday night at Devlin Fieldhouse.

The Green Wave opened the second half with a decisive run, outscoring the Owls 26-8 over the first 10 minutes to take control. Temple responded with a late push to cut the deficit to just outside single digits, but despite Derrian Ford's conference-play high of 26 points, the Owls were unable to complete the comeback.

With the loss, Temple moves into a three-way tie for third place in the American alongside Charlotte and Memphis. The Owls return to the Liacouras Center on Sunday, Feb. 15 to face North Texas (13-11, 4-7).

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was a sluggish start for both sides, with neither team shooting above 20% through the first five minutes. Temple held an early rebound advantage, collecting four on the offensive glass early.
Each offense eventually got in its groove, with Derrian Ford and Jordan Mason converting from the perimeter for a quick spurt as the Owls and Green Wave drew even at 12 apiece at the 10-minute mark.
Temple grabbed its first lead of the game, 14-12, at the 9:28 mark on a jumper from Babatunde Durodola. At that point, Durodola, Jordan Mason, Derrian Ford and Masiah Gilyard had combined for 16 of Temple's 17 points, with Ford pacing the group early with five. Tulane regained a slim 18-17 edge with 7:20 remaining as both teams were shooting just 27% from the field to that point.
The teams traded blows over the final six minutes of the half, with seven lead changes down the stretch. Offensively, each side began to gather momentum, combining to shoot 45% from the field after the penultimate media timeout, with Temple scoring 13 points through this stretch.
The Owls were tied at the half for the first time this season. Ford led the Owls with 10 points, while Aiden Tobiason paced all rebounders with five. Tulane's Tyler Ringgold led all scorers with 12.
Tulane gained the upper hand through the early stages of the second half with an early 14-2 run, including 11 unanswered points. The run was jump-started with a quick four-point spurt by Ringgold, who led with a game-high of 18 points at this juncture, setting a career-high.
The Green Wave's run carried into the middle of the second half, as the Green Wave built a 26-10 advantage in the frame by the 9:30 mark. Tulane shot an efficient 61.5% from the field during that stretch and controlled the glass, holding a 12-4 rebounding edge in the second half.
Temple answered with a 5-0 run just past the midway point of the half, but Tulane responded with six straight points to extend its lead to 62-43. After the five-minute mark, Ford connected from the perimeter to trim the deficit to 13. The Owls tightened up defensively late, holding the Green Wave scoreless for four minutes heading into the final media timeout.
An 8-0 Owl surge, its longest run of the night, cut the deficit to single digits at 65-57. Ford continued to spark the comeback, knocking down another long-range shot to make it 75-66 in the closing minutes. Despite a conference-play high 26 points from Ford, Temple ultimately fell to Tulane, 77-66.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

The Owls held Tulane's Rowan Brumbaugh to just 11 points, marking his second-lowest output of the season. Brumbaugh entered the night as the Green Wave's leading scorer and the conference's second-leading scorer, averaging 19.3 points per game.
Derrian Ford poured in 26 points, a conference-play high for him. It marked his second-highest total of the season, just one shy of his 27-point performance against Saint Joseph's on Dec. 6.
With Masiah Gilyard entering the starting five, this marks only his second start this season. Additionally, Gavin Griffiths came off the bench for the first time in the 2025-26 campaign.
Temple began the game 0-8 on field goals before its first make at 15:54 to tie the game at 4-4.
Both teams made nearly as many shots from outside the arc (Temple: 4; Tulane: 3) as they had from inside (Temple: 6; Tulane: 6) in the first half.
Through the game's first 31 minutes, neither Temple's Tobiason nor Tulane's Rowan Brumbaugh, the American's second leading scorer, had a point. The two entered the game with 15.5 and 19.3 PPG averages.
Derrian Ford (26) and Jordan Mason (15) each finished in double figures for Temple.
Finishing with eight rebounds, Aiden Tobiason tied his career high, also tallying eight against Saint Joseph's.

UP NEXT

The Owls will next return to Philadelphia on Sunday, Feb. 15, to take on the North Texas Mean Green at the Liacouras Center. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. with the game streaming on ESPN+ and available to listen to on Owlsports.com/listen