Florida Atlantic Defeats Temple in American Conference Championship First Round
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Florida Atlantic Owls defeated the Temple Owls 63-59 in the first round of the American Conference Championships on Wednesday evening at Legacy Arena. With the loss, Temple’s season comes to an end with a 16-16 overall record. Florida Atlantic (18-14) advances to the second round to face No. 6 seed North Texas on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.
How It Happened
The game featured a back-and-forth start, with Temple taking an early three-point lead after the first 4:30, led by four points from Jamai Felt. The first ten minutes saw both teams trading baskets, with neither gaining a significant advantage. Florida Atlantic closed the first half with a 7-0 run to grab a two-point lead into halftime.
Florida Atlantic extended its lead early in the second half with an 8-0 run, making their first seven field goal attempts of the period. Temple chipped away at the deficit, cutting the margin to one after Masiah Gilyard made a free throw. However, FAU responded with two three-pointers to regain a six-point lead.
In the final minutes, Florida Atlantic built a ten-point advantage with 3:42 remaining. Temple rallied with scores from Derrian Ford, Aiden Tobiason, and Babatunde Durodola to pull within two points. After a Florida Atlantic layup, Ford drove to the basket, drew a foul, and made both free throws. Temple had a chance to take the lead, but a turnover gave possession back to FAU, who sealed the victory at the free throw line.
Key Stats
Derrian Ford led Temple with 16 points, while Aiden Tobiason added 12 and Masiah Gilyard finished with 10. Niccolo Moretti led Florida Atlantic with 19 points.
The contest featured seven lead changes and nine ties. Temple finished the season averaging 9.0 turnovers per game, a program ranking, and improved their scoring defense by 6.9 points compared to the previous season, allowing 70.8 points per game. The Owls committed just 10 turnovers in the game.
Source: https://www.espn.com.au/mens-college-basketball/game/_/gameId/401851222
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