Despite shooting woes, Temple tops UTSA to earn its sixth straight victory

Throughout Temple’s six-game winning streak, there has been an evident theme — inconstancy.

The Owls have been plagued by cold stretches in which they rely on their defense to keep them going. Saturday against UTSA was more of the same.

However, it didn’t matter as Gavin Griffiths’ 23-point performance and a 15-point, 12-assist double-double from Jordan Mason lifted Temple to a 76-57 victory and gave the program its longest winning streak under coach Adam Fisher.

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“We’re really proud of this game today,” Fisher said. “We talk about this all the time. ‘Tougher together; 15 beats five.’ That’s been our mantra since we got together in June. … I have great respect for the [UTSA] program, and I thought we prepared yesterday the right way, and I thought that was key.

The Owls (10-5, 2-0 American) next host East Carolina (5-9, 0-1) on Wednesday (7 p.m., ESPN+).

Near the end of Temple’s 76-73 win over Charlotte on Tuesday, guard Derrian Ford collided with 49ers center Anton Bonke. The senior was sidelined for the remaining three minutes and was inactive for Saturday’s contest, leaving the Owls without their scoring and rebounding leader as Masiah Gilyard slotted into the starting lineup.

Ford’s absence was apparent early, as Temple went 6 of 20 from the field over the first eight-plus minutes before making adjustments.

“Like Coach says, ‘15 beats five,’” Mason said. “So knowing he’s not going to play, and he’s a big piece. We just needed a little bit more from everybody. I feel like everybody just contributed a little bit more in their role.”

Little by little, Temple began to push the game out of reach as it entered halftime up, 39-30.

Six players scored in the first half, led by Mason’s 10 points, as the guard extended his double-digit scoring streak to six games.

Gilyard also provided a boost in Ford’s absence, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds.

“We knew other guys had to step up,” Fisher said. “I thought [Gilyard] set the tone. I think we grabbed three or four offensive guns in the first possession. We missed five wide-open shots. But the tone was set.”

Temple lacked in three-point shooting on Saturday, which was a rarity for an offense that is second in the American in three-point percentage.

The Owls shot just 9-of-27 from deep, so they had to put an emphasis on getting buckets down low.

However, the lack of offense put Temple in a similar position it had been in for most of this season: relying on the defense. UTSA (4-10, 0-2) got within eight points with 14 minutes, 2 seconds left, , but the Owls regrouped and held them to 32.7% shooting on the day.

With UTSA trying to cut into Temple’s lead, the Owls needed someone to step up.

After his 10-point first half, Mason had just five second-half points. However, he had 12 assists, the most since guard Mardy Collins in 2006. Aiden Tobiason also was inconsistent and finished with 13 points on 4-for-13 shooting.

Ford typically would be the go-to hand. Instead, it was Griffiths.

Griffiths scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half, anchoring Temple’s offense. His performance was just two points shy of his career high, which he set as a freshman at Rutgers. He also finished with a season-high seven blocks and two steals.

“I feel like I got a lot of really good looks today,” Griffiths said. “I was put in a position to make a lot of threes.”

Inquirer staff writer Colin Schofield contributed to this article.