Temple falls in overtime to Charlotte in critical American Conference matchup

Temple had a chance to break its tie for second place in the American Conference on Wednesday night against Charlotte. The Owls trailed once in the second half and at one point held an eight-point lead.

However it wasn’t enough, as the 49ers stormed back to hand Temple an 80-76 overtime loss at the Liacouras Center.

The Owls (13-8, 5-3) were within striking distance with 17 seconds remaining in overtime. Then guard Charlotte Dezayne Mingo drilled a three-pointer that pushed the 49ers (12-9, 6-2) lead to five and squandered the Owls’ comeback hopes as they missed their final four shots.

“We won the first half, but the second half, we had a couple lapses,” said Temple coach Adam Fisher. “This is a team we knew [to] try to keep them in the 60s. Great credit to Charlotte. There’s a reason they’re 6-2 [and] towards the top of league.”

Guard Derrian Ford led Temple with 21 points, while guard Jordan Mason added 20.

Charlotte center Anton Bonke stole the show with a career-high 25 points, breaking his previous 20, which he set against Temple on Dec. 30. Mingo also had 19 points off the bench, while dishing out 10 assists.

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Mason took charge of the Owls’ offense, and 14 of their first-half points were three-pointers.

Temple’s defense attempted to contain the 49ers, who have a size and height advantage. When Bonke attacked the paint, the Owls found themselves in foul trouble. They finished with 20 personal fouls.

“Good job getting into some pick and roll spaces and they throw it up to him, and he’s huge,” Fisher said. “Great credit to him. He had 20 against us out there last time, when we won, we knew ‘Hey, they can’t make threes.’ When Harrison scores double figures, I think they’ve won every game. So they got a lot of weapons.”

However, Temple did limit the American’s third-best team in shooting to make 9 of 24 attempts in the first half, going 4 of 9 in three-pointers. Charlotte shot 53.8% in the second, but went 3-for-12 in three-pointers.

Temple kept up with Charlotte and trailed once in the second half and took an eight-point lead with under seven minutes remaining. But that advantage didn’t last.

Temple had possession with 30 seconds remaining in regulation, leading 68-66, with a chance to put the game to rest. Guard Masiah Gilyard snagged a steal and it seemed like Temple would secure a victory.

Gilyard attempted a dagger three-pointer, but it went off the mark and a scramble ensued. It got into the hands of Mingo. He found guard Damoni Harrison, who converted a layup to send the game to overtime.

“It looked like almost a broken play,” Fisher said.

Temple never recovered from there, as it went 1-for-6 from the field in the extra period.

Temple will host South Florida (13-7, 5-2) on Saturday (8 p.m. ESPN+).