The first half finished with the Owls leading 41-33, but then the defensive intensity picked up. Temple held the Rams (5-19, 2-7 A10) to just 23 points in the second half, compared to their own 32 points, and the game felt virtually over for most of the second half. Senior center Michael Eric started today after suffering a knee injury early in December. Eric has been playing for a couple of games, and has been putting up good numbers since resuming action with the team; Temple coach Fran Dunphy decided to reward Eric with a role in the starting lineup. This turned out to be a good decision for the Owls because Eric pulled down 5 rebounds in his first start back.
Other nice performances for the Owls: Aaron Brown with 15 points and Kalif Wyatt who had 16 points and 5 rebounds.
The win kept Temple in first place in the Atlantic 10, with a 1/2 game lead over with fellow Philly squad La Salle, Xavier, Saint Louis, and UMass. Their next game is on Wednesday at home, against a struggling George Washington team.
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