Temple 73, Bucknell 67: Will Cummings scored 30 points - one shy of his career high - as the Owls held off the visiting Bison in the opening round of the NIT.

Cummings shot 9-of-14 from the field, made 3-of-4 from outside the arc and did not miss in nine attempts from the foul line as top-seeded Temple (24-10) advanced to face No. 5 seed George Washington. Quenton DeCosey (13 points) and Josh Brown (11) also finished in double figures for the Owls.

Four players scored in double figures for No. 8 seed Bucknell (19-15), led by Chris Hass (15 points) and Nana Foulland (14 points, 10 rebounds). J.C. Show added 13 points in a reserve role for the Bison, who stayed close by grabbing 21 offensive rebounds en route to a 51-41 edge on the boards.

Cummings shot 5-of-7 from the field in the first half and led all scorers with 13 points as the teams went into halftime tied at 35. Hass' 3-pointer with just over 11 minutes left in the second half gave Bucknell a one-point edge, but the Owls scored the next eight points - the final four by Cummings - to go ahead 59-52 with just under eight minutes to play.

Hass' jumper drew the Bison within 64-62 with 1 1/2 minutes left before Brown made a layup and two free throws on the next two possessions. Steven Kaspar's 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining made things interesting until DeCosey and Obi Enechionyia each went 2-of-2 from the line to close it out.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Temple leads the all-time series 30-5. ... The Owls finished 21-of-26 from the foul line, compared to 10-of-18 for the Bison. ... DeCosey and Cummings each had seven rebounds, while DeCosey added five assists and F Jaylen Bond notched four steals and four blocks for Temple.