Temple suppresses second half surge by La Salle

Quenton DeCosey scored a game-high 19 points and Jaylen Bond provided energy in the second half to help Temple hold off La Salle, 58-57, Saturday at the Palestra.

Down by 12 points in the first half, La Salle, led by Jerrell Wright's team-high 15 points and eight rebounds, got as close as 56-54 with 2:03 left in the second half.

But that was as close as the Explorers would get the rest of the way. La Salle's last real chance to get the game to overtime or to perhaps win in regulation slipped away when Jordan Price (13 points) missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining in regulation. At the time the Explorers trailed 57-54.

Temple (5-3, 2-1 Big 5) Got 11 points and five rebounds from Bond. The Owls made their free throws count as well, knocking down 18 of 20.

La Salle (4-4, 0-2 Big 5) placed four players in double-figures scoring. Price finished with 13 points. Khalid Lewis and Cleon Roberts both finished with 12.