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Temple prevails in overtime thriller

Devin Coleman let the shot fly and gave Temple renewed life and eventually the Owls' most impressive comeback of the season.

Temple's Quenton DeCosey (left) and Josh Brown celebrate beating Tulsa.
Temple's Quenton DeCosey (left) and Josh Brown celebrate beating Tulsa.Read more(Charles Fox/Staff Photographer)

Devin Coleman let the shot fly and gave Temple renewed life and eventually the Owls' most impressive comeback of the season.

After Temple trailed  by as many as 12 points in the second half and by five with less than 26 seconds left, Coleman forced overtime with a three-pointer from the corner and the Owls prevailed in the extra period for an 83-79 win over Tulsa on Thursday night in an American Athletic Conference thriller at the Liacouras Center.

Temple is 13-8 overall and 7-3 in the AAC after beating the Golden Hurricane for the first time in five meetings.

Tulsa fell to 14-8, 6-4.

Temple's Quenton DeCosey drew two defenders and sent a cross-court pass to Coleman, who drilled his corner three with three seconds left in regulation.

"Throughout the game I missed a lot of shots," said Coleman, who was 2 for 8 from beyond the arc. "Everybody told me to keep shooting, stay confident, and Quenton made a great play, saw me in the corner, I was open, and had to knock it down."

When it left his hand, Coleman had a good feeling.

"Even the shots I missed felt good, but that one felt good," Coleman said. "I knew it was going in."

DeCosey led Temple with 21 points, all scored after intermission.

"Shots weren't falling in the first half," said DeCosey, who was 0 for 4 in the opening 20 minutes, but 6 for 11 afterward. "I kept being aggressive and they started to fall in the second half."

Obi Enechionyia added 17 for the Owls while Jaylen Bond had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Guard Pat Birt scored 22 points for the Golden Hurricane.

Tulsa appeared in command when Rashad Ray hit both ends of a one-and-one to make it 70-65 with 25.9 seconds remaining.

"I really wasn't worried," Enechionyia said. "We have Devin Coleman and I am pretty confident in him and Q when they have the ball."

Bond scored on a tip-in for Temple, making it 70-67. Tulsa's Shaquille Harrison missed a free throw, but teammate Marquel Curtis grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled.

Curtis missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Coleman, who scored 10 points, hit the corner three that tied the score.

Harrison missed a shot at the buzzer, forcing overtime.

In the extra session, Daniel Dingle's three-point basket gave the Owls a 77-75 lead with 2:17 left.

Birt's two free throws cut Temple's lead to 78-77, with 56 seconds left. Enechionyia hit a corner three, but Curtis made a jumper to make it 81-79 with 15 seconds left.

DeCosey was fouled with 12.7 seconds left and hit both free throws to ice the win.

Temple freshman center Ernest Aflakpui, who had started the previous six games, didn't play because of a knee injury.

With his 516th win, Temple's Fran Dunphy tied former Owls coach John Chaney as the winningest coach in Big Five history.

mnarducci@phillynews.com

@sjnard