PHILADELPHIA –

The Temple University Owls held of a strong effort from the University of South Florida Bulls in overtime, winning 82-80. The Bulls overcame double-digit scoring deficits in the first half of the game to force overtime at the end of regulation.

The first points of the game came off a pair of made free throws by Temple’s Nate Pierre-Louis, who was fouled within the first 30 seconds of the game. Alexis Yetna got the Bulls on the scoreboard with a layup about a minute later, tying the game at 2. Over the next 11 minutes, the Owls would outscore the cold-shooting Bulls, 20-7, leading 22-9 at the seven minute mark. Things would get worse for USF, who would trail by 17 with four minutes remaining in the first half, 29-12. They would close the gap a bit by halftime, but still went to the locker rooms down 14, 37-23.

The Bulls hit the court with motivation in the second half, scoring seven unanswered points on the way to a 19-5 run, tying the game for just the second time, 42-42, with just under 14 minutes left to play in regulation. With 13:01 on the clock, LaQuincy Rideau scored on a layup, giving the Bulls their first lead of the game, 44-42. A David Collins layup and a pair of layups by Yetna gave the Bulls a 50-42 lead with 11 minutes to go. The two teams would trade leads down the stretch. With 1:34 left in the game, USF had a one-point, 65-64 lead after a Yetna layup. Shizz Alston Jr. gave the Owls back the lead with a dunk at 1:20, 66-65.

After a USF timeout, Rideau missed a shot which was rebounded by Temple and passed to Alston. Rideau attempts to steal the ball from Alston and is called for a foul, sending Alston to the line. Alston makes both shots, giving Temple a 68-65 lead. Rideau would respond with a three-pointer with 28 seconds remaining regulation, tying the game at 68. Alston tried to put the game with a three of this own, missing with four seconds on the clock. Collins would launch a shot midway between the half-court line and the three point arc, which went wide left off the backboard.

Temple started overtime strong, scoring the first six points to lead 74-68 with 3:25 left in the extra period. The Bulls would fight their way back, getting within one point, 78-77, with 36 seconds to go. Pierre-Louis and Quinton Rose would make a pair of free throws a piece, between which USF missed two field goals and two free throws. Six seconds to go, Temple led 82-77. Xavier Castaneda hit a timely three to get the Bulls within two with 1.6 seconds on the clock. However, the officials did not call the obvious USF attempts to foul, allowing the clock to run out. Owls would hang on to win 82-80 in overtime.

USF dominated the paint (40-26), had twice as many second-chance points (18-9), had more points off the bench (21-12), and more points off of turnovers (23-21). Both teams had 15 fast break points. They had more rebounds (37-33) and less turnovers (22-19). They either led or were close on every major statistical category other than one. The Owls made 82% of their 28 free throw attempts, scoring 23 points at the line. USF hit just 40% off their 25 opportunities, leaving the line with just ten points.

The Bulls were led by Yetna in scoring, who finished with 24 points and narrowly missed another double-double with nine rebounds. Rideau notched his first triple-double of the season, scoring 18 points with ten assists and ten steals. He is just the sixth player in the past 20 years of NCAA basketball to achieve a triple-double in those categories. Collins, who fouled out in overtime, finished with 16 points.

Pierre-Louis was the leader in scoring for the Owls, with 22 points. Alston had 20 points and nine rebounds. Rose had 16 and Moorman finished with a double-double, 12 points and 13 rebounds. Pierre-Louis and Rose were perfect from the line (8-8, 5-5). Moorman was 3-4 from three-point range.

Temple moves to 13-3 (3-1) with the win, their third in a row, a perfect 7-0 at home. They will hit the road to visit ECU on Wednesday, January 16th for a 7:00 PM EST tip-off.

Despite the loss, USF is still in the midst of one of the best program starts in decades. They are 12-4 (2-2) and headed to Cincinnati for a matchup with the Bearcats on Tuesday, January 15th. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM with coverage provided by ESPNNews.