No. 11 Temple won its fourth game in four days, defeating No. 2 Florida Atlantic 74-73 in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament on Saturday.
With the win, Temple (16-19) advanced to its first AAC final and will face No. 4 UAB on Sunday. Temple becomes the lowest seed to make a championship final appearance.
Temple will become just the third team to play five games in five days at a conference tournament, joining UConn, who won the 2011 Big East Tournament, and NC State, which is playing in the 2024 ACC Championship final Saturday night.
Shane Dezonie made a jumper with 2:33 remaining to break a 64-64 tie to give Temple the lead for good. In the last minute, Nick Boyd hit a jumper and Johnell Davis made three free throws for Florida Atlantic (25-8) to cut the lead to one with 29 seconds left.
Dezonie hit two free throws with 14 seconds remaining before Nick Boyd brought it back to one with a pair of free throws.
FAU guard Johnell Davis committed a turnover on his errant pass, and Temple’s Hysier Miller dove to the floor for the loose ball as time expired to seal the win.
Miller led Temple with 21 points, while Jordan Riley recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Vladislav Goldin led the Owls with 23 points, while Davis had 18 points.
