HOUSTON —
Damian Dunn scored 16 points, including the go-ahead free throw and Kur Jongkuch blocked Houston’s game-winning attempt in the final seconds as Temple held on to be the top-ranked Cougars 56-55 on Sunday.
With the game tied at 55, Dunn sunk a free throw with 1:06 left to give Temple a one-point lead.
Jamal Shead would miss a 3-pointer for Houston and Nick Jourdain pulled in the rebound. Dunn would then miss a layup with 8 seconds left, and Jongkuch grabbed the rebound, but the Owls were whistled for a shot clock violation after a video review.
Down one, Shead drove to the basket but Jongkuch swatted his shot out of the bounds with 1.3 seconds left. Tramon Mark tried for a tip-in, but his attempt fell short at the buzzer and the Owls hung on for the win.
Temple (12-9, 6-2 American Athletic Conference) is now 3-18 against No. 1 ranked teams. It was the first win for the Owls over a No. 1 ranked team since a 77-69 win at No. 1 Cincinnati on Feb. 20, 2000.
Zach Hicks scored 12 points for Temple, as the Owls shot 31% from the field and were 20 of 22 from the free throw line.
Shead had 13 points, and Marcus Sasser added 12 points for Houston (18-2, 6-1), which saw its nine-game winning streak snapped.
Houston shot 34% for the game but were 11 of 21 from the charity stripe.
With the game tied at 47, Temple used an 8-1 run to open up a 55-48 lead on two free throws by Jourdain with just over 6 minutes remaining. Houston then responded with a 7-0 run of their own to tie it up at 55.
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