Napier, UConn take down Temple
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Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Shabazz Napier had 17 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists as No. 21 Connecticut took a 68-55 win over Temple.
Ryan Boatright scored 14 points, DeAndre Daniels gave 13 points and Amida Brimah added 10 points and five boards for the Huskies (21-5, 9-4 AAC), who have won four straight.
Quenton DeCosey had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Owls (7-18, 2-11), who have lost five of their last six. Dalton Pepper contributed 11 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
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Temple came out strong and held an 18-12 lead halfway through the first half as Mark Williams converted a three-point play.
Boatright's jumper, though, started an 11-0 run that saw the Huskies take the lead for good as Amida Brimah's jumper with under six minutes to play made it a 23-18 game.
Another 6-0 run a bit later helped UConn take a 33-25 lead into the halftime break.
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Daniels' 3-pointer 3 1/2 minutes into the second half gave the Huskies their largest lead at 40-29, but Temple kept it close as Anthony Lee hit a bucket and free throw, and Will Cummings followed with a 3-pointer to make it a 40-35 game.
The Huskies, though, went on a 12-3 run as Temple went close to 10 minutes without a field goal after Cummings' 3-ball. Napier's layup and free throw made it a 52-38 game with under seven minutes to play.
DeCosey scored nine straight points as his slam with under three minutes to play made it a 56-47 game, but the team was unable to get closer than seven back the rest of the way.
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Game Notes
UConn hosts SMU on Sunday ... Temple plays at Memphis on Saturday ... UConn shot 44.9 percent, while Temple made just 33.9 percent of its attempts ... UConn leads the series, 6-3. UConn took a 90-66 win at home over Temple on Jan. 21.