Khalif Battle and Jahlil White lead Temple to 70-61 win over Cincinnati

Five players scored in double figures for Temple on Sunday as the Owls beat Cincinnati, 70-61, at the Liacouras Center.

Cincinnati finished 1-of-10 from the floor to finish the game. The Bearcats struggled to find consistent shots.

“Coach [Aaron McKie] always says that his style is to wear them down the entire game, and the shots are going to eventually not fall,” guard Jahlil White said about Temple’s defensive performance.

On the flip side, Cincinnati’s defense was unable to stop Temple from scoring at different areas of the court.

Guards Khalif Battle and White led the Owls (8-7, 2-0, American Athletic Conference) by scoring 14 points each. White finished with a double-double by grabbing a career-high 16 rebounds.

“I felt like they were coming to me,” White said. “I was in the right position most of the time.”

Zach Hicks went 4 of 8 for 13 points, including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, and pulled down eight rebounds. Forward Nick Jourdain added 12 points and guard Hysier Miller had 11. Guard Damian Dunn, who missed Temple’s 59-57 win over East Carolina on Wednesday with a head injury, scored six points in his return.

Cincinnati was led by guard Landers Nolley, who finished 6 of 12 from the floor for 15 points. Additionally, guard David DeJulius scored 13 points.

» READ MORE: Khalif Battle drops 18 off the bench to lead Temple past East Carolina, 59-57

The Owls were efficient from the floor.

Temple finished 24 of 57, including converting 8 of 18 from three-point range. White, who averaged 4.3 points through 12 games, made contested jump shots and attacked the rim. Hicks presented matchup problems for Cincinnati’s perimeter defense.

The Owls outperformed the Bearcats in the paint, outrebounding them 46-28.

“That is my style,” McKie said. “That’s how I like it.”

Additionally, Temple made 14 of 15 from the foul line and scored 20 points off the bench.

Cincinnati (10-5, 1-1) finished 23 of 60 from the floor. The Bearcats made only 8 of 15 from the free-throw line and scored two points off the bench.

Miller missed from three-point range with 7 minutes, 26 seconds remaining in the first half. Seconds later, Cincinnati guard Jeremiah Davenport nailed a three-pointer to spark a 7-0 run for the Bearcats.

Temple answered.

Hicks contributed to a 15-0 first-half run by making three consecutive shots from beyond the arc. The Owls grabbed an eight-point lead with 2:37 remaining. The Bearcats failed to score for almost five minutes, but guard Mika Adams-Woods converted a layup to end the run.

In the second half, Miller converted from three-point range at the 12:41 mark. Battle, made back-to-back three-pointers to give the Owls a nine-point lead with 11:23 remaining.

Temple travels to South Florida (7-7, 0-1 AAC) on Wednesday (7 p.m., ESPN+).