Temple holds off Missouri’s late charge

Quinton Rose scored 18 points to lead Temple to a 79-77 victory over Missouri.

Shizz Alston finished with 15 points and six assists, De’Vondre Perry added 11 points and Ernest Aflakpui grabbed 12 rebounds for the Owls (6-1).

Temple outscored Missouri 16-4 in the final 3:20 of the first half to open a 42-32 halftime lead. The Tigers (3-3) got within two points in the final two minutes thanks to outstanding outside shooting – they were 11 of 19 from 3-point range – but the Owls never gave up their lead after intermission.

Missouri’s Jordan Geist hit a 3-pointer to cut the Temple lead to 77-75 with 14 seconds left, but Alston was fouled and made both free throws to secure the game.

Mark Smith led Missouri with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, Kevin Puryear added 16 points and Jeremiah Tilmon had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

BIG PICTURE

Temple: It was the Owls’ third victory over a Power 5 conference opponent this season, after they previously defeated Georgia and California.

Missouri: Temple entered the game ranked seventh nationally with 10.5 steals per game, and Missouri entered with a minus-2.2 turnover margin. As expected, turnovers hurt the Tigers, who committed 15 while forcing only five.

UP NEXT

Temple: The Owls return to Philadelphia for a game at Saint Joseph’s on Saturday.

Missouri: The Tigers will face a second straight American Athletic Conference opponent when UCF visits Mizzou Arena on Sunday. Temple was picked to finish sixth in the AAC by the league’s coaches, while UCF was projected to win the league.