Florida Atlantic topples Temple in Battle of the Owls

The Florida Atlantic Owls made a statement on the road with a 79-73 win over the Temple Owls on Sunday in Philadelphia with first place in the American Athletic Conference on the line.

Josiah Parker led FAU with 22 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for the game’s only double-double. It was a career day for the freshman guard from Leesburg, GA, who scored over 20 points for the first time as well as grabbed double-digit rebounds.

Xander Pintelon, Devin Vanterpool, and Maxim Logue each scored 12 points for FAU. The Owls of Boca struggled from the three-point line (3-of-19) but made up for it with 27 mid-range buckets and a 16-of-24 clip from the free throw line.

Temple was led by the duo of Aiden Tobiason (23 points) and Derrian Ford (22 points). The Owls of Broad Street fell despite making more free throws than FAU attempted (25-of-32) and making three more baskets from the arc.

With both teams tied 15-15 eight minutes into the first half, Temple broke through with an 11-2 run highlighted by three-pointers by Ford and Gavin Griffiths to lead FAU 26-17 with 8:48 remaining. FAU responded with a 10-3 run of its own to cut Temple’s lead to 29-27 with 3:16 left in the first half.

FAU ended the first half with three points from Pintelon to go into halftime trailing Temple 34-30. He picked up where he left off with a layup to start the second half and ensuring a close contest.

After two free throws by Pintelon, FAU finally took the lead on a driving layup by Vanterpool to go up 40-38 with 16:16 left in the game.

No lead was safe early in the second half, as Temple responded with a 9-2 run highlighted by a three-pointer and layup by Ford to retake the lead at 47-42 after a pair of free throws from Babatunde Durodola with 12:13 remaining.

Both teams continued to trade blows until a Parker hook shot up FAU on top 55-54 with 7:04 left and and the birds of paradise went on to outscore Temple 19-12 to give FAU its largest lead in the game, up 74-66 with 48 seconds remaining.

While there are three other teams in the American with only one conference loss, FAU (13-6, 5-1) has built its lead on playing two more games and winning both of them. FAU will play all three teams within the next three games, with Tulane at home and South Florida and Memphis on the road.

How FAU fares through that gauntlet will decide whether the regular season title is the Owls’ for the taking or if tournament positioning becomes the next priority.