Temple put its three-game losing streak to rest in dominating fashion Thursday night, steamrolling South Florida, 73-48, at the Liacouras Center in an American Athletic Conference matchup.
The Owls (13-7, 4-3 AAC) erased a quiet start with a barrage of three-pointers in the first half to seize control entering intermission and cruise in the second half.
The Bulls (7-12, 1-5 AAC), who began the season 5-1, their best start since 2009-10, have lost 11 of their last 13.
Turning point
Trailing 14-10 with 8:36 left in the first half, the Owls caught fire, igniting a 29-6 run to snare a 39-20 lead at the break.
Temple nailed seven threes during the run — four by Jesse Morgan — and finished 8 of 14 from deep in the first half.
Quenton DeCosey capitalized the chokehold spurt with 34 seconds left in the opening stanza on an emphatic two-hand dunk over a South Florida defender.
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The Bulls never threatened in the second.
Big men on campus
Morgan, who was 6 of 28 from three-point range (21 percent) in his previous three games, went 4 for 5 in the first half and finished 5 for 8 to lead the Owls with 19 points.
Senior guard Corey Allen Jr., South Florida’s leading scorer, paced the Bulls with 12 points.
Injury update
Temple senior point guard Will Cummings returned and started after sitting out the team’s loss to Cincinnati last week with a strained muscle in his lower left leg.
Cummings suffered the injury on Jan. 10 versus Tulsa after playing 14 minutes. He came off the bench on Jan. 14 to play 27 minutes against SMU before missing the following game.
Cummings posted 12 points, three assists and three steals in 28 minutes of action.
Numbers game
• After allowing 78.1 points per game last season, the Owls came into Thursday surrendering just 62.8 per game. In the win, Temple allowed its second-lowest point total of the season. In the Owls’ season opener, they held American to 37 points.
• Temple forward Jaylen Bond, the AAC’s leading rebounder at 8.3 per game entering Thursday, snatched seven boards and scored seven points in 25 minutes.
• Temple, the second-worst three-point shooting team in the 11-team AAC, went 10 for 25 (40 percent) from behind the arc. The Owls came into Thursday shooting 30.3 percent from long range.
Did you know?
When it comes to NCAA Division I experience, South Florida is the second-youngest team in the country, according to the school’s game notes.
The Bulls lost nine players from last season’s team, which went 12-20.
History
With the win, Temple tied the all-time series at 2-2.
Temple’s first meeting with South Florida came in the 2011-12 NCAA tournament, when the 12th-seeded Bulls upset the fifth-seeded Owls in the second round, 58-44, on March 16.
Entering that game, Temple had won 13 of its previous 15 games and finished the season 24-8.
What’s next?
Temple travels south for a meeting with conference foe Central Florida on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. The Owls beat the Knights on Jan. 4 at the Liacouras Center, 84-78.
South Florida visits UConn Saturday at noon.