Temple Falls 63-59 to Florida Atlantic in American Conference Championships First Round

Wednesday, March 11

Birmingham, Ala. | Legacy Arena at the BJCC

9:00 PM

Temple University

16-16,8-10American

Florida Atlantic

18-14,9-9American

Temple

Fla. Atlantic

Photo by: Robin Hsiao

Temple Falls 63-59 to Florida Atlantic in American Conference Championships First Round

3.12.26 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Trailing by 11 points with 3:42 remaining, the Temple University men's basketball team cut its deficit to two twice with under 90 seconds remaining but ultimately fell, 63-59, to Florida Atlantic on Wednesday evening inside Legacy Arena in the first round of the American Conference Championships.

With the loss, Temple finishes the 2025-26 season with a 16-16 overall record. FAU advances to the second round of the American Conference Championships on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET against No. 6 seed North Texas.

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was a back-and-forth start with Temple gaining the upper hand and taking a three-point lead after the first 4:30 of action. Jamai Felt led Temple early with four points.
Around the halfway mark of the first half, both teams continued to trade baskets, with the margin never extending beyond one possession through the first 10 minutes. Temple's lead held at three for a 2:12 stretch before Florida Atlantic trimmed the advantage to one.
FAU regained the lead as halftime approached, taking advantage of a Temple scoring drought to spark a 7-0 run and gain control. Florida Atlantic carried a two-point lead into the break.
The contest remained tight early in the second half before FAU used an 8-0 run to push its lead to eight through the first 5:30 of the period. Florida Atlantic made its first seven field goal attempts of the second half.
While Florida Atlantic maintained its lead as the half progressed, Temple began to chip away. Taking advantage of a five-minute FAU scoring drought, the Cherry and White cut the margin to one after Masiah Gilyard converted a trip to the free throw line.
FAU regained momentum from the perimeter, hitting two three-pointers to stretch the lead back to six with seven minutes remaining. Approaching the final minutes, Florida Atlantic used an 8-0 run to extend the advantage to 10 with 3:42 left.
Looking for a spark, Derrian Ford connected from long range to trim the FAU lead to six before Aiden Tobiason and Babatunde Durodola each scored inside to pull Temple within two.
Florida Atlantic answered with a quick layup, but Ford responded by driving to the basket, drawing a foul, and converting both free throws. After forcing a turnover, Temple had a chance to take the lead as the clock wound down.
Ford drove along the baseline but lost control of the ball out of bounds, giving possession back to FAU. Florida Atlantic sealed the game at the free throw line to secure the 63-59 victory and advance.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Through the first half, neither team led by more than four points.
The back-and-forth contest featured seven lead changes and nine ties.
Derrian Ford led Temple with 16 points, while Aiden Tobiason added 12 and Masiah Gilyard finished with 10.
Temple finished the season averaging 9.0 turnovers per game, ranking fifth in program history. The Owls also allowed 70.8 points per game, a 6.9-point improvement from the 2024-25 season.
The Owls committed just 10 turnovers, marking the 28th game this season in which Temple recorded 10 or fewer turnovers.

Temple concludes the 2025-26 season with a 16-16 record.