Temple 66, Houston 54: Quenton DeCosey paced a balanced Owls attack with 16 points in a home victory against the Cougars.

DeCosey, who added nine rebounds, was joined in double figures by Jaylen Bond (15 points, nine boards), Will Cummings (14 points) and Jesse Morgan (10). Temple (20-9, 11-5 American) outscored Houston 37-20 in the second half to overcome a five-point deficit at the break.

LeRon Barnes paced Houston (9-18, 1-14) with 15 points and 11 rebounds as the team played without point guard L.J. Rose (foot), who is out for the year. Devonta Pollard (14 points) and Danrad Knowles (13) also finished in double figures for the last-place Cougars.

Houston led 34-29 at halftime thanks to 11 points from Knowles and 10 from Pollard, but DeCosey dunked on the first possession of the second half to spark an 8-0 run that Bond capped with a three-point play. The game was tied at 41 when Bond scored six points during another 8-0 spurt that created some separation for the hosts.

Pollard's jumper with over seven minutes left drew the Cougars within 54-47, but Cummings made two layups in the next minute to push the margin back to 11. Temple's Devin Coleman added a pair of layups shortly thereafter as the lead ballooned to 62-47 and the Owls finished off their 20th win, reaching the plateau for the seventh time in eight seasons.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pollard had four steals for Houston, which lost its sixth straight game. ... The teams combined to go 9-of-20 from the foul line. ... Cummings added seven assists, five rebounds and three steals.