North Texas Rallies Past Temple, 65-62

Sunday, February 15

Philadelphia, Pa.

2:00 PM

Temple University

15-10,7-5American

North Texas

15-11,6-7American

North Texas

Temple

North Texas Rallies Past Temple, 65-62

2.15.26 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Philadelphia – The Temple University men's basketball team fell to North Texas, 65-62, at the Liacouras Center on Sunday afternoon. The Owls led 28-22 at halftime and built a game-high 12-point advantage in the second half before the Mean Green responded with a decisive 15-0 run, flipping the deficit into a three-point lead with 9:15 remaining.

In another tight finish at home, Temple cut the North Texas lead down to one on a Derrian Ford free throw and a Jamai Felt dunk, but the Mean Green answered with two more at the stripe. With time winding down Gavin Griffith's corner three fell short, sealing the 65-62 loss.

Masiah Gilyard matched his season high with 16 points, while Ford recorded his 11th 20+ point performance of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The three-point shot fueled Temple's early offense, with Aiden Tobiason and Derrian Ford each connecting from deep. On the other end, the Owls limited North Texas to 40% shooting through the first seven minutes.
At the midway point of the first half, Temple led by three in a tightly contested game. Tobiason paced the Owls with six early points, while the defense tightened further, holding the Mean Green to 33% from the field.
After North Texas briefly grabbed a two-point lead, Masiah Gilyard responded with back-to-back threes to swing momentum. Tobiason added his second triple, helping Temple build a nine-point advantage with three minutes remaining.
North Texas answered with a quick five-point spurt on a three-pointer and two free throws to cut the deficit to four. Temple closed the half at the line, and a made free throw by Ford sent the Owls into the break with a six-point lead.
Gilyard carried that momentum into the second half, knocking down two more threes to push Temple's lead to a game-high 11. At that point, Gilyard and Ford had combined for 23 of the Owls' 37 points.
Midway through the second half, North Texas responded with a 10-0 run, fueled by Dylan Arnett's eight points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting stretch. Temple still led by two with 10:44 to play.
The Mean Green extended the run to 15-0 and took a three-point lead. Temple answered with back-to-back field goals from Tobiason and Gilyard to tie the game at 45 with 8:14 remaining.
North Texas later built a four-point edge before Temple evened it again at 55. Gilyard tied a season high with 16 points as the game moved into the final minutes.
With 1:30 left and North Texas leading by one, the Mean Green hit two free throws to go up three, then later split a pair to keep the margin at three. Ford split at the line on the other end to trim it to two.
After another quick foul, Terell Davide Jr. split his free throws. Gavin Griffiths then found Jamai Felt for a dunk to cut it to one, but North Texas responded with two free throws. Griffiths' corner three in the final seconds was off the mark, and the Mean Green secured a 65-62 win.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

With the loss, Temple finds itself in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference standings alongside Charlotte and Memphis. The Owls split the season series with Charlotte 1-1 while falling to the Tigers on the road on Jan. 14.
Temple converted five three-pointers in the first half, its most in a conference first half this season.
The Owls held North Texas to 27.6% shooting in the first half, their best defensive first half since facing UTSA on Jan. 3.
Derrian Ford (20), Masiah Gilyard (16), and Aiden Tobiason (12) all finished in double figures for Temple.
Finishing with 20 points, this marks Derrian Ford's 11th game this season scoring 20 or more.
With nine rebounds, Gavin Griffiths tied his career high. Griffiths finished with nine rebounds in two of his past three performances.
Masiah Gilyard tied his season high with 16 points and set a career-high with four three-point field goals and a season-high of seven made field goals.

UP NEXT

The Owls will stay in North Philadelphia for the time being, playing host to the UAB Blazers on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. with the game being broadcast on ESPNU and available to listen on OwlSports.com/listen.