Temple’s Quinton Rose and pest teammate Alani Moore spur Owls' win over Memphis

It took the work of a pest and a top shooting night from Quinton Rose to keep Temple among the leaders in the American Athletic Conference basketball race.

With Rose scoring 26 points, one shy of his career high, and fellow junior Alani Moore making three steals in the last two minutes while scoring a season-high 10 points, Temple beat Memphis, 85-76, on Thursday night at the Liacouras Center.

The Owls (15-4, 5-1 AAC) won their fifth straight conference game and rebounded from Saturday’s 77-70 loss to Penn. Memphis, which entered the game leading the AAC in scoring (84 points a game). fell to 12-7, 4-2.

While Rose tied his career high for three pointers in game, shooting 5 of 9 from beyond the arc, it was the defense of the 5-foot-10 Moore that sealed it with the three steals.

“We get on him a lot, because he is the smallest guy on the team, and told him he has to be a pest, and that is exactly what he was late in the second half,” Rose said of Moore.

As for being a pest, Moore said he is guilty as charged.

“That is one of my things -- I have to be a pest at my size to play at this level,” Moore said. “You have to be gritty and hungry for the ball, so I am not doing my job if I am not doing what I am supposed to be doing.”

Temple was helped by the Tigers' failure to find the basket from deep. They shot 1 for 23 from three-point range.

“We were 1 for 23 from three, and it’s hard to win a game when you do that,” said Memphis first-year coach Penny Hardaway, the former NBA star.

Memphis, which trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half, cut the lead to 69-67 with 5 minutes, 31 seconds left, on two free throws by Jeremiah Martin, who had a game-high 28 points.

But the Tigers would get no closer. Each time they made a run, Temple answered.

Early in the game, the Owls forced Memphis into a half-court game. Later in the half, Memphis got things going and trailed, 41-33, at halftime.

With 4:44 left in the first half, Temple’s J.P. Moorman fouled Raynere Thornton hard going to the basket and was ejected for a flagrant foul. Thornton left the game, and teammate Kareem Brewton made one of two free throws in his place. Thornton returned later in the half.

Rose enjoyed his best half of the season for the Owls. He had 18 points, hitting 5 of 7 three-pointers by halftime.

“My first two, they were playing off me, daring me to shoot and [after making them] the basket got kind of big,” Rose said.

Shizz Alston, who entered the game as Temple’s leading scorer (18.9 ppg.) scored just 10 points, hitting 2 of 13 from the field, but his step-back three pointer with 2:20 left increased Temple’s lead to 80-72.