Khalif Battle’s 27 points led Temple to an 83-73 win over VCU on Saturday in Philadelphia.
The Rams (5-3) got 16 points and nine assists from Ace Baldwin Jr., and Jalen DeLoach chipped in with 16 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.
Jamir Watkins and Jayden Nunn each scored 14 points for the VCU.
Battle scored 15 of his 27 after the break for Temple (5-4).
Damian Dunn added 17 points for the Owls.
VCU pulled within 55-54 on a Watkins corner three-pointer with 12:03 left, but Temple responded with a 10-0 run that included a Battle three-pointer to extent its lead to 65-54 with 7:30 remaining, and eventually led by as many as 16 points.
Temple built an 18-7 lead in the first half, but VCU chipped away with 12 first-half points by Baldwin, who converted a four-point play at the 1:16 mark to pull the Rams within 35-33.
Next up: VCU will host Jacksonville on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. That game will be broadcast on MASN and ESPN+.
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Chris Graham
