Temple drops its first conference game of the season in 87-76 loss to Tulane

In a rematch of the 2022 American Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals, Temple saw its three-game winning streak snapped in an 87-76 loss to Tulane at the Liacouras Center on Saturday.

Temple (9-8, 3-1 AAC) and Tulane have been battling each other in the conference standings for two years now. Last season, the two teams were projected to finish in the bottom third of the conference. Instead, Temple finished No. 4 and Tulane No. 5, splitting the season series. Tulane (10-5, 3-1 AAC) defeated an injured Temple team in the 2022 AAC Tournament and was voted fourth, one spot ahead of the Owls, in the 2022-23 AAC preseason coaches poll.

“It’s been a battle with them,” said Temple head coach Aaron McKie. “They’re a really good team with a good coach. … It’s going to be like that. It’s always been close games with us.”

The Owls entered Saturday’s game one game ahead of Tulane in the conference standings. In order to win, the Owls needed to contain or outduel an offense that averages 80.8 points per game. Temple unsuccessfully had to settle for the former.

Temple took 34 three-pointers and made just 11.

“We’re going to have tough games or tough losses like this one,” said Temple guard Damian Dunn. “It’s really about how you tend to recover from them.”

Khalif Battle led all scorers with 21 points off the bench in a game that featured six double-digit scorers. Guard Jaylen Forbes led Tulane with 20.

Tulane forward Kevin Cross led the game with eight rebounds and tied Battle with a game-high four assists. Tulane’s Sion James and Collin Holloway each had two steals, and Temple forward Nick Jourdain finished with two blocks.

Tulane went on a 7-0 run around the 13-minute mark of the first half to take its first lead, 9-8. The Green Wave’s zone defense denied Temple opportunities at the rim and forced the Owls to take jumpers. Temple then substituted guards Shane Dezonie, Dunn, and Battle for guard Hysier Miller, forward Zach Hicks and center Kur Jongkuch to add more perimeter scoring.

Temple went on a scoring drought for more than two minutes in the first half, leading to a 9-2 Tulane run and a 33-27 Green Wave lead. The Owls reverted to their stagnant four-out, one-in offense with little movement off the ball.

Tulane missed seven consecutive field goals in the second half, allowing Temple to tie the game at 40 with a little over 16 minutes remaining.

With about 12 minutes left in the game, sophomore forward Jahlil White received a technical for asking about a no-foul call. A fiery McKie defended his player and was also given a technical. Assistants Monte Ross and Chris Clark had to restrain McKie, and Tulane went up, 56-48. The Owls immediately went on a 13-2 run to take a 61-58 lead, thanks to two three-pointers by Battle.

“I was upset with some of the things that were going on through the course of the game,” McKie said. “So I was a little surprised that he called that technical foul so fast, so quick. … I thought it was wrong for him to make that call at that particular time. Maybe I’m wrong.”

Tulane went on an 11-0 run inside the third media timeout of the second half to take a 69-61 lead.

Temple travels to Tulsa (4-10, 0-3 AAC) on Tuesday night (8 p.m.; ESPN+). The Owls swept the Golden Hurricane last season.