Men's Basketball Drops Tight Road Contest to FAU

Thursday, February 26

Boca Raton, Fla.

7:00 PM

Temple University

15-13,7-8American

Florida Atlantic

16-13,8-8American

Temple

Fla. Atlantic

Men's Basketball Drops Tight Road Contest to FAU

2.26.26 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – In another tight finish, the Temple University men's basketball team fell to the Florida Atlantic Owls, 77-73. This marks the fifth straight loss for Temple, as the Cherry & White turn their attention next to a matchup with Rice on Sunday at the Liacouras Center.

Florida Atlantic led by five with just over three minutes remaining, but Temple surged ahead briefly after Aiden Tobiason's fastbreak layup and a go-ahead bucket from Derrian Ford. FAU responded with key free throws and an Amar Amkou and-one in the final minute before sealing the 77-73 win at the line as Temple's last-second attempt fell short.

With the loss, Temple (7-8) falls to ninth in the American Conference standings and will close the regular season against No. 10 Rice (5-10), No. 6 Tulane (8-7) and No. 2 Tulsa (11-5) to finish the 2025-26 campaign.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Florida Atlantic flew out of the gates strongly, scoring the first five points of the contest before Temple cut the deficit to two in the opening minutes.
Gavin Griffiths eventually got the ball rolling for Temple, connecting on a three-pointer, then finishing on the interior with a highlight behind-the-back move as the Road Owls led by five. This jump-started an 11-0 run for Temple, as the Owls led by as many as seven with 11 minutes left in the half.
Through the later stages of the half, the perimeter shot started to become a difference maker for the Owls. Derrian Ford and Gavin Griffiths both hit shots from distance, fueling an 8-0 Temple spurt that put the team up by 10.
FAU was able to trim down the margin before halftime, utilizing a late three-pointer with just seconds on the clock to trim Temple's lead down to six by the break.
Florida Atlantic was able to hit the ground running to start the second period, using a 7-0 run to regain the lead after just 1:50 with Devin Williams scoring five of the team's seven points.
Now in a tight ballgame, Gavin Griffiths continued to follow through in what was quickly becoming a back-and-forth affair. Griffiths elevated his scoring total to 20 points halfway through the period as no team led by more than one possession for a five-and-a-half-minute stretch of play.
FAU began to build a slight advantage with the team going on a 10-2 run to push the home Owls' lead to 10 points. Looking to regain momentum, Aiden Tobiason kept Temple's head above water with a six-point spurt to trim the margin back down to three with 6:42 to go.
With 3:15 remaining, Florida Atlantic led by five, but Aiden Tobiason continued his push, finishing a fastbreak layup to cut the deficit to one with 1:50 left. Derrian Ford then gave Temple a brief one-point lead on the following possession.
Kanaan Carlyle answered at the line to put FAU back in front, and after a Temple turnover, Amar Amkou converted a tough and-one to extend the lead to three in the closing minute.
Down to their final possession, Temple saw Tobiason's contested perimeter attempt miss in the final seconds as FAU added one more free throw to secure the 77-73 win.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Gavin Griffiths (20), Derrian Ford (20) and Aiden Tobiason (19) all finished in double figures for the Owls.
Griffiths knocked down four three-pointers in the first half, his highest total since he connected on a career-high six threes against UTSA (Jan. 3).
As a team, the Owls converted seven shots from distance in the first half. This marks their most in a first half since facing Saint Francis on Dec. 14.
Griffiths' 20 points marked his highest scoring output since Jan. 7 at East Carolina.
Derrian Ford finished with 20 points, marking the senior's 12^th game with 20+ this season.

UP NEXT
The Owls return to North Philadelphia next for a Senior Day matchup against Rice on Sunday, Mar. 1. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. with the action streaming on ESPN+ and available to listen to on OwlSports.com/listen.