The Temple News

12/23/2025

Temple Men’s Basketball snuck by Princeton 65-61 at The Liacouras Center Monday night to enter conference play on a four-game winning streak. The Owls received an early boost from forward Babatunde Durodola’s seven points in two minutes for an 11-6 lead. Their offense continued to glide until Princeton started driving to the paint.

The Tigers used an 11-1 run for a 35-33 halftime lead, but Temple quickly regained the advantage with a 10-0 run to start the second half. Guard Jordan Mason reorganized the Owls’ offense to remain in the lead. Princeton pierced its deficit to 63-61 with 23 seconds remaining, but guard Jack Stanton missed a go-ahead three. From there, the Owls knocked down a pair of free throws to come away with the win.

“We didn't play well in the first half, in our opinion,” said head coach Adam Fisher. “But we found a way to win and I think that's what you got to do is find a way to win, especially at home. We're happy to be 6-1 in the nonconference at home. But these guys now get some time off and we'll get back to work and get ready for league play.”

Temple will travel to Charlotte to open conference play on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m.

Temple Men’s Basketball held Princeton to 33.3% shooting from the field in the second half of its 65-61 win Monday night.

12/22/2025

Temple lost to No. 25 Princeton 87-77 Monday afternoon, despite a career-high 36 points from guard Kaylah Turner. The only other Owl to finish in double-digit scoring was forward Jaleesa Molina, who totaled 12 points. Temple finished with 22 turnovers, its third consecutive game recording at least 20 giveaways.

The Owls started quickly, scoring the game’s first five points, but they suffered a cold spell just as promptly. Princeton embarked on a commanding 12-0 run, giving it a seven-point lead that bent but never broke. Turner trimmed Temple’s deficit to as little as three after 10 consecutive points, but the Tigers managed to hold a 26-20 advantage entering the second quarter.

The Owls’ offense dried up once more, totaling eight points in the frame, allowing Princeton to take a 14-point lead into the locker room. Temple’s offense rediscovered rhythm, shooting 50% from the field in the third frame. But, it wasn’t until the final quarter the Owls sliced their deficit to nine points. Nonetheless, it was too little too late as Princeton emerged victorious.

Temple Women’s Basketball fell to Princeton 87-77 despite shooting 50% from the field and from three-point range.

12/20/2025

Temple Women’s Basketball forced a season-high 29 turnovers in its 59-39 win against Coppin State Friday night at The Liacouras Center. The Owls’ defense allowed a season-low in points to pick up their second straight win.

The Eagles could not get through Temple’s defense in the first half, recording just 13 points on 17.9% shooting from the field while turning the ball over 16 times. Temple converted those turnovers into 12 points, which was its main source of offense. However, the Owls also struggled to create offense, scoring just 26 points in the first 20 minutes to enter the locker room with a 26-13 advantage.

Temple’s offense finally found its footing in the third quarter. The Owls shot 50% from the field and extended their lead to 19 points with 10 minutes left in the game. Coppin State was unable to close the gap in the final quarter and fell despite forward Patrica Sosa Lora’s 12 points and 16 rebounds. The Owls had four players finish with double-digit points, paced by guards Drew Alexander and Kelian Cedano with 12 each.

“We played well defensively, but I think we weren't patient offensively and didn't execute,” said head coach Diane Richardson. “[Coppin State] is a kind of team that pushes defensively and I think we kind of rushed some things. We should have purposely executed our offense to get us better shots and I thought we took some quick shots.”

Temple will travel to battle Princeton on Dec. 22 at 11:30 a.m.

Temple Women’s Basketball forced a season-high 29 turnovers in its 59-39 win against Coppin State Friday night.

12/19/2025

Students interested in positions should email The Temple News’ editor-in-chief, Sidney Rochnik ([email protected]), with a current resume, name of the position(s) they’re interested in and a paragraph about why they’re applying and why they’re a good fit for the job. Students can apply for as many positions as they’d like.

Submissions for all positions are due Saturday, December 27, 2025.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WFrwsjX5jJq7Wo6rrJrlcw6y0Ku9khkXwiR7XtDyq-o/edit?tab=t.0

12/19/2025

Temple defeated Davidson 68-63 Thursday night, behind guard Derrian Ford’s game-high 23 points. The win marked Ford’s sixth outing, eclipsing 20 points, but guards Aiden Tobiason and Jordan Mason were also crucial, scoring 19 and 14 points, respectively. The Owls’ guard play culminated in their third consecutive win.

Temple took advantage of the Wildcats’ poor shooting, building an eight-point lead with less than five minutes remaining in the first half. Guard Cam Wallace played a pivotal role, registering eight of his nine points through a career-high 23 minutes. Davidson couldn’t create offensive rhythm and shot 23.5% in the first half as the Owls cracked open a 36-23 advantage entering the locker room.

Instead of adding to its lead, the Wildcats embarked on a 13-0 run to trim the Owls’ lead to three points with less than 10 minutes left. Temple’s offense hit a wall, as it converted just 14.3% of its three-point attempts, compared to its 41.7% accuracy in the first half.

Tobiason iced the contest, however, scoring a layup to regain a four-point lead with 35 seconds remaining. From there, all the Owls needed to do was make free throws, which they did en route to a five-point victory.

Temple will return home to play Princeton on Dec. 22 at 7 p.m.

Temple Men’s Basketball made 26 free throws to sneak by Davidson 68-63 Thursday night.

12/18/2025

The staffing study for Temple’s Department of Public Safety is complete, President John Fry wrote in an announcement to the Temple community Thursday.

The study, conducted by Healy+ and COSECURE, found that DPS is adequately staffed to meet public safety needs but that additional staff is needed to improve.

The Department of Public Safety currently has 77 officers, including 50 patrol officers, Fry wrote. The department’s goal is to add 29 patrol officers, six sergeants, a lieutenant and a detective in the next five years to move Temple up to the next tier of the consulting firms’ framework.

“Once we’ve reached that milestone, we will conduct a thorough re-evaluation of our capacity and needs to develop a path forward,” Fry wrote.

Securing the proper resources and improving the ability of Public Safety has been a top priority of Fry’s administration, Fry wrote in his announcement of the staffing study in Dec. 2024. The study began in Jan. 2025, and was initially expected to be completed by the spring.

The study found Public Safety could improve efficiency with additional staffing, leading the department to start working on 37 new hires for the next five years.

12/14/2025

Temple Men’s Basketball knocked down a season-high 15 three-pointers in its 95-67 win against Saint Francis Sunday afternoon. The Owls never trailed and led by as many as 30 points to pick up their sixth win. Temple started the game strong with a three from guard Derrian Ford to set the tone on offense. Guards Gavin Griffiths and Aiden Tobiason jumped in on the fun with threes to give the Owls a 10-point lead less than five minutes into the game.

The Owls’ offense remained in a groove for the rest of the first half. They made 10 threes and shot 65.4% from the field to take a 47-24 lead into the locker room. Temple remained in cruise control for the first eight minutes of the second half before the Red Flash made a comeback attempt.

Guard Skylar Wicks went on a personal 8-0 run to bring them within 15 points. However, Temple closed the door on a comeback with five points from guard Jordan Mason. The Owls coasted the rest of the way for their second straight win.

“Last game, the only thing we showed film-wise was the assists and our bench energy,” said head coach Adam Fisher. “And we knew today, right with the weather, we had to bring our own energy. And I thought that our team did that, that the bench was great. I think it's showing your team, look how good you are when nobody cares who scores, but when we get assists, look how good we can be too.”

Temple will get on the road to face Davidson on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m.

Temple Men’s Basketball knocked down a season-high 15 three-pointers in its 95-67 win against Saint Francis.

12/13/2025

Temple Women’s Basketball cruised past VCU 88-63 Saturday afternoon behind guard Kaylah Turner’s career-high 29 points. The Owls started hot out of the gate, jumping out to a 13-point lead in the first five minutes of action. However, the Rams fought right back with an 11-1 run to trail 17-14 at the end of the first quarter.

Temple started the second quarter making its first three three-point attempts and its defense played with high intensity the entire frame. VCU shot just 28.6% from the floor and committed four turnovers in the period to trail 42-26 at halftime.

The Owls were on cruise control for the second half, outscoring the Rams 46-37. They shot 52.7% from the field and 48% from three-point range in the win.

“It was a nice game for us, offensively and defensively,” said head coach Diane Richardson. “We talked about starting early and it started with defense and it turned into offense.”

Temple will play Coppin State at home on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.

Temple Women’s Basketball shot 48% from three-point range in its 88-63 win against VCU Saturday afternoon.

12/12/2025

Giakoby Hills never played a college snap before this season. He redshirted his freshman season in 2024, spending the year mainly getting reps in practice. The same was expected for Hills in 2025, until an injury gave him the chance to start.

Left tackle Kevin Terry, who started the previous season, went down with an MCL sprain during fall camp on Aug. 9 and was still hurt for Temple’s season-opener game against UMass on Aug. 30, giving Hills his first career start. He suppressed the nerves and impressed his coaches in that first game as Temple achieved a 42-10 win.

Hills has not relinquished the starting left tackle job since, starting all 10 games and is emerging as a key cog up front for the Owls as they push for a bowl game.

Hills remained atop the depth chart even as Terry recovered. He gained the coach’s trust in the most important position on the offensive line and has plenty of room to grow as a redshirt freshman.

“I have to prove to everyone that I belong here,” Hills said. “I'm gonna stay here and just prove who I am. I'm going to be one of the best tackles in the country. I have a chip on my shoulder and I want to make every single rep count.”

Temple Football left tackle Giakoby Hills earned a starting spot due to an injury and didn’t give it up.

12/12/2025

Growing up in Denver, Qairo Bentley was interested in nearly every sport. She dabbled in almost everything, except soccer, but one sport stood out to her: volleyball. She learned volleyball from her older sister, Amirah Bentley, who was a setter at Fort Hays State University and Clark Atlanta University from 2017-21.

The outside hitter transferred to Temple before the 2024 season, looking for a fresh start after spending three seasons at VCU and then tearing her ACL in her lone season at Boise State in 2023.

She was behind in her rehab when she got to North Broad Street, so she spent last year on the sidelines healing while taking on a mentor role. Bentley’s work paid off, finally playing one last college season this fall.

“I did not like the way that I left Boise,” Bentley said. “I did not want to end my career on an injury and not be healthy, I have given a lot to volleyball and to the game itself and I owed it to myself to finish out strong and healthy.”

Temple Volleyball defensive specialist Qairo Bentley suffered an ACL tear at Boise State two years ago, to now find her way at Temple.

12/12/2025

A 14-year-old boy was shot on 17th near Oxford Street Thursday evening, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department told The Temple News.

The victim was transported to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, the spokesperson said.

PPD responded to the shooting at 5:45 p.m. The scene has since been cleared and is currently being held.

The shooting took place on the 1500 block of North 17th Street Thursday evening.

12/10/2025

Temple is considering methods to revitalize its Ambler Campus, with options including a public-private partnership reformulating its curriculum to highlight hands-on learning, bringing back residence halls, offering full degree programs or selling the 187-acre campus.

The university issued a request for proposals from consultants and advisors for Ambler Campus in August and reviewed more than a half dozen of them by Oct. 28.

Located 17 miles north of Main Campus and out of the city, Ambler offers several horticulture and science courses for Temple students but has faced low enrollment numbers for decades and experienced more than $10 million in damage after being struck by a tornado in 2021.

Vicki McGarvey, director of the Ambler Campus and vice provost for university college, acknowledged that it has been a challenge to recruit students to Ambler as their full-time campus, and that more students are choosing to attend all of their classes at Main Campus rather than commute to Ambler, which does not offer on-campus housing.

She thinks there is room for Ambler to increase its academic contribution to Temple.

“We have a lot of land,” McGarvey said. “We have 187 acres, and we could be doing more there.”

Ambler Campus enrolled 230 students in the 2024-25 academic year, which amounted to 0.7% of Temple’s total enrollment. Ambler’s enrollment in 2014 was 1,117, or 2.9% of total enrollment.

The university will bring in consultants to develop a plan to better utilize the campus in the coming weeks.