Florida Atlantic hands Temple men their second straight defeat

First-place Florida Atlantic proved too much for Temple to handle on Sunday as the Owls dropped a 79-73 decision at the Liacouras Center, their second straight loss. FAU outscored Temple by 10 in the final 10 minutes of the game.

“FAU is a fantastic team. They’re super talented,” said coach Adam Fisher, whose Owls lost at Memphis on Wednesday. “They’ve won their last two [against Wichita State and Memphis]. They’re playing really good basketball, a super-talented group of guards.”

One of those guards, Josia Parker, led the visiting Owls with 22 points as FAU improved to 13-6, 5-1 in the American Conference. Aiden Tobiason finished with 23 points for Temple (11-7, 3-2), which shot just 36.8% from the field.

Temple’s defense delivered, clamping down on FAU’s two leading scorers, guards Kanaan Carlyle (seven points) and guard Devin Vanterpool (12). The visitors took control as Parker scored 19 points after halftime.

Turnovers were a problem for the Owls, who coughed up the ball a season-high 15 times. Guard Jordan Mason scored just five points and finished with one assist before fouling out.

Forward Jamai Felt had a problem pulling in passes in the first half, but Temple had a 34-30 lead at the break. Felt mishandled a pass from Derrian Ford that could have bumped Temple’s lead to six.

Fisher said after the game that guard AJ Smith would miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury that requires surgery. Smith transferred to Temple this season after playing last year at Charleston.

The senior guard averaged 7.8 points for the Owls and was a key player off the bench. He has not played since Temple lost to Villanova on Dec. 1.

“He’s had some past history of it, I think at a previous institution, and tried to play through it at the next institution,” Fisher said. “They looked at it, and we tell him, just like we do anybody, ‘Hey, these are family decisions.’”

Temple will visit Rice (8-10, 2-3) on Wednesday (8 p.m., ESPN+).