The Temple News

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.

12/10/2025

The Temple News Sports team talks the last three weeks of Basketball, including the Big 5 Classic. Also, updates on Fencing and the end of Football and Volleyball for the last Playbook of the Fall semester.

The Playbook is your way to get in the game for all things Temple Athletics. Join the TTN sports editors as they break down the past week in sports with expert analysis and appearances from some of…

12/10/2025

Temple Men’s Basketball snapped its three-game losing streak, as it scored a season-high 103 points in its 46-point win against Georgian Court Tuesday night at The Liacouras Center. The Lions remained competitive for the first five minutes of the game before Temple went on a 16-0 run, taking a 23-5 lead. The Owls coasted through the rest of the first half and took a 43-24 lead into halftime.

Georgian Court started to trim its deficit early in the second half as it got back within 12 points, but the Owls stepped on the gas again to pull away for good. They consistently got to the free-throw line for easy points, building the lead beyond 20 points again. Temple put in its reserves near the end of the game and rattled off another 20 points behind center Mohammed Keita and guard Connor Gal. The Owls walked away with a 103-57 win.

“We're tougher together, we’re better when we’re together,” said guard Jordan Mason. “When we play together, I think it's really hard to guard us and so just being able to trust each other and making the right plays has been good for us.”

Temple will stay at home to take on Saint Francis (Pa.) on Dec. 14 at noon.
https://temple-news.com/owls-score-season-high-103-points-against-georgian-court/

12/10/2025

Temple left tackle Giakoby Hills agreed to a multi-year deal for him to return to Temple, 247Sports reported Tuesday night.

Hills started all 12 games for the Owls this season and was a crucial piece of the offensive line. The 6-foot, 5-inch, 290-pound tackle redshirted his freshman year in 2024 and entered this season as the backup to starter Kevin Terry. However, Terry suffered an MCL injury in training camp and Hills remained the starting job even after Terry’s full recovery.

Hills is the first player who is set to return next season. The Owls could also retain guards Jackson Pruitt and Eric King and center Grayson Mains.

“I have to prove to everyone that I belong here,” Hills told The Temple News in an interview on Nov. 11. “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 is returning to Temple after starting every game last season.

12/07/2025

Temple was outrebounded 17-8 in the second half of its 59-52 loss to Drexel to place fourth in the Big 5 Classic Sunday afternoon. An ankle injury sidelined starting point guard Tristen Taylor, which played a role in the Owls’ offensive struggles. Temple shot just 39.6% from the field and 23.5% from three-point range.

It took little time for the Owls’ offense to click, taking a seven-point lead less than four minutes into the first quarter. Temple went cold, however, missing 10 of its last 11 field goal attempts to take a 11-6 lead entering the second period. Drexel guard Molly Rullo caught fire, scoring 10 points in the frame to shorten the Owls’ advantage to 22-20 at halftime.

Temple shot below 40% from the field through 20 minutes, a struggle that persisted in the third quarter. The Dragons took advantage of the Owls’ offensive woes as Rullo hit two consecutive three-pointers en route to a 34-30 advantage entering the fourth period. Guard Kaylah Turner made a three to regain Temple’s one-point lead, but a four-minute scoreless stretch ultimately led to its demise.

“It was a tough game for us,” said head coach Diane Richardson. “Drexel did a great job defensively against us, had us doing things that we didn't want to do. I thought that we sat back too long and trying to battle back in the fourth quarter, you just can't do those kinds of things, especially against a good team like that.”

Temple will play VCU at The Liacouras Center on Dec. 13 at 2 p.m.

Temple Women’s Basketball was outrebounded 17-8 in the second half of its 59-52 loss to Drexel Sunday afternoon.

12/07/2025

Podcast Editor Ariana Droz sits down with contributors to this year's special edition of The Essayist to discuss their responses to the prompt “Who or what inspires you,” for the final installment of Reprint this Fall.

RePrint is your biweekly rundown of the stories you need to know about from The Temple News. It is available on Wednesdays featuring Ariana Droz and other editors from The Temple News…

12/07/2025

Temple fell to Saint Joseph’s guard Deuce Jones II’s game-winning three-pointer in its 70-69 loss to place fourth in the Big 5 Classic Saturday evening. Guard Derrian Ford scored a career-high 27 points, but it was insufficient as Jones scored the Hawks’ final 10 points for the victory.

Neither team’s offense could establish itself early on, but guard Jaiden Glover-Toscano’s layup kick started St. Joe’s. His score launched a 12-0 run to give the Hawks a 10-point lead that the Owls quickly chipped away at. Guard Gavin Griffiths knocked down three first-half three-pointers to help cut Temple’s deficit to 33-25 entering the locker room.

Ford was crucial in the Owls creating separation in the second half, scoring seven points amidst a 12-0 run for a three-point lead. Each side traded buckets, but Temple positioned itself to win, holding a five-point advantage with one-and-a-half minutes left. That’s when Jones scorched the Owls’ defense for seven consecutive points, which handed Temple its fifth loss.

“We have to learn that you have to play a consistent 40-minute game,” said head coach Adam Fisher. “If we played like that in both halves, it'd be a different outcome. But again, I think this group is resilient. And I was really proud of our second half. We have to learn that this is what you need to do at this level to win, is 40 minutes of consistent basketball.”

Temple faces Georgian Court at The Liacouras Center on Dec. 9 at 7 p.m.

Saint Joseph’s guard Deuce Jones II scored a buzzer-beating three-pointer to beat Temple Men’s Basketball 70-69 in the third place game of the Big 5 Classic Saturday evening.