Dominant Second Half Powers Temple Past Tulane, 89-60

Thursday, March 5

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 PM

Temple University

16-14,8-9American

Tulane

17-13,8-9American

Tulane

Temple

Dominant Second Half Powers Temple Past Tulane, 89-60

3.5.26 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – After leading by eight at halftime, the Temple University men's basketball team found its rhythm in the second half, outscoring the Tulane Green Wave 49-28 after the break to cruise to a dominant 89-60 win.

Gavin Griffiths and Jordan Mason jump-started Temple's offense with two early three-pointers as the Owls opened the half with a commanding 32-11 run to punch their ticket to the 2026 American Men's Basketball Championship with one game remaining in the regular season.

Individually, Aiden Tobiason led the way for the Owls with 21 points, marking the fourth consecutive game where the sophomore has scored at least 18, while Derrian Ford (16), Gavin Griffiths (15), Jordan Mason (15), and Babatunde Durodola (10) rounded out Temple's double-digit scorers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Owls got off to a hot start at the Liacouras Center, utilizing a seven-point spurt to jump to a five-point lead after five minutes of play.
Evening the game at 16, the Green Wave were able to find a quick spark. The contest stayed tight through the mid-stages of the first half, with Aiden Tobiason leading the charge with seven points while shooting a perfect 2 for 2 from the field with five minutes remaining.
The Owls were able to build out their lead, utilizing a 4:39 scoring drought by the Green Wave to take an 11-point lead with 1:30 remaining. The Owls were crashing the boards as well, outrebounding their opponents 20-11.
At the half, Temple held an eight-point advantage, closing the period on a 16-6 run to lead Tulane 40-32. Aiden Tobiason was the lone Owl in double-figures with 12 points.
Temple continued its hot run in the second half, with Gavin Griffiths and Jordan Mason each connecting on triples to extend the Owl lead to a game-high 18. Griffiths continued to pour it in, extending his second-half total to six after another triple.
Roughly halfway through the half, Temple continued to assert itself, pulling away to a 25-point lead courtesy of a strong 32-11 run. Aiden Tobiason continued to lead the charge, capping off a strong stretch of play with a thunderous alley-oop slam.
Pushing its lead to 30 points, the Owls continued to push the pace. With seven minutes remaining, Temple was shooting 72.2% from the field, 70% from three-point range, while connecting on all four of its foul shots in the second half.
The late stages of the second half remained the same as the Owls cruised to an 89-60 win, snapping its six-game skid and clinching a spot in the 2026 American Men's Basketball Championship.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Tonight's contest marks Temple's largest victory over an American Conference opponent and the team's most lopsided conference win since a 39-point victory over St. Bonaventure on Feb. 7, 2007.
With the win, Temple has clinched its 10th home win of the season. This marks the first time that the Owls have finished with back-to-back double-digit home wins in a season since 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Winning by 29 points, this marks the largest margin of victory for a home conference game since Temple beat South Florida 75-47 on March 6, 2022. This was also the home finale for the 2021-22 season.
Aiden Tobiason (21), Derrian Ford (16), Gavin Griffiths (15), Jordan Mason (15), and Babatunde Durodola (10) all finished in double figures for Temple. This marks the first time that five Owls have scored at least ten points since Temple's game against La Salle (Nov. 11).
Finishing with 21 points, Tobiason recorded his second consecutive 20-point game and has now scored at least 18 points in four straight contests.
Connor Gal, the program's longest-tenured Owl, saw action in his final game at the Liacouras Center, marking his 15th appearance and fifth of the 2025-26 season.
Finishing with five assists, Gavin Griffiths tied the career-high he set earlier this season against South Florida (Jan. 31).

UP NEXT

The Owls will next play in their 2025-26 regular season finale, traveling to face the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Sunday, March 8. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m. ET, with the game being streamed on ESPN+ and available to listen to on Owlsports.com/listen.