On a day that saw Xavier retire the jersey of one of their all-time greatest players in power forward Brian Grant it was ultimately guard play that helped this current group of Musketeers establish a bit of history for themselves. Guards Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons combined to score 40 points while forwards Kenny Frease and Jamel McLean combined for 27, and Xavier closed the game on an 18-8 run over the last 5:06 to beat Temple 88-77. Scootie Randall led the Owls (13-5, 3-2) with 28 points while Khalif Wyatt added 19 but it wasn’t enough to combat the struggles of Lavoy Allen, Juan Fernandez and Ramone Moore.

Allen more than had his hands full with Frease and McLean, failing to score and playing just 13 minutes due to foul trouble. If not for Randall, Micheal Eric (11 rebounds) and Rahlir Jefferson (six points, seven rebounds) the Musketeers likely decide the outcome well before the final five minutes. Another factor in Temple’s ability to keep the game close in the first half what their ability to knock down the three-point shot. The Owls shot just 41.9% from the field in the first 20 minutes, but making 8 of 13 shots from downtown more than masked a putrid 5-for-18 output on two-point shots.

“We were certainly relying on the three-ball in the first half,” said Temple head coach Fran Dunphy after the game. “We were almost relying on it too much. Chris [Mack] does a real nice job, so we figured we'd need to find another way to score. We just didn't finish the way we need to in a place like this against a really good team like this."