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Wyatt and O'Brien help Temple edge Charlotte

One could argue that Temple was lucky Wednesday night.

One could argue that Temple was lucky Wednesday night.

The Owls blew an early 13-point lead. Charlotte shot 60.4 percent from the field. And Temple committed five turnovers in the final 2 minutes, 9 seconds.

But the Owls defeated the 49ers, 89-88, in an Atlantic Ten matchup at the Liacouras Center.

"We didn't play our best basketball," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "Obviously, Charlotte shot it very well. Some of that is them; a lot of that is us. Our defense needs a lot of work at this point."

Luckily for the Owls (15-7, 4-4 A-10), they did just enough to get by. Temple is 5-0 against Charlotte (17-5, 5-3), which has lost three of its last five.

"Obviously we are not playing great basketball," Dunphy added. "We have to find a way to get our defense much more solid."

Khalif Wyatt made 10 of 13 foul shots to finish with a game-high 25 points for Temple. Reserve forward Jake O'Brien (22 points) and reserve guard Dalton Pepper (11) both had season highs in scoring. Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson was Temple's other double-digit scorer with 11 points; he added a career-high five steals.

The Owls, who led by as many as 13 points midway through the first half, had a tough time making stops.

The 49ers pulled within 88-85 on Denzel Ingram's three-pointer with 28.1 seconds left. Charlotte had a chance to tie the score after Scootie Randall's turnover on the ensuing possession.

But Hollis-Jefferson stole the ball back, and the 49ers were called for an intentional foul. That enabled the Owls to regain possession after Hollis-Jefferson missed both free throws.

Wyatt was fouled by Ingram after receiving the inbounds pass. The Temple guard converted a foul shot to make it a four-point game with 8.3 seconds left. Charlotte's Pierria Henry followed with a three-pointer at the buzzer as the Owls escaped with a one-point win.

The Owls were dominated on the perimeter and in the paint. Charlotte made 7 of 10 three-pointers and had a 44-30 advantage in points in the paint.

Chris Braswell, a 6-foot-9, 227-pound power forward, was the 49ers' top scorer with 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting.

DeMario Mayfield, Charlotte's leading scorer, missed his second consecutive game because of an indefinite suspension. The junior guard violated an undisclosed team rule.