UC San Diego's sharp shooting and crisp offense deals Temple a 91-76 drubbing

Temple’s improved defense through the first four games of the 2025 season was one of the Owls’ storylines. They entered their quarterfinal game of the ESPN Events Invitational Monday against UC San Diego allowing just 70 points per game after giving up 78 points per contest last season. 

The Tritons made quick work of that number and surpassed that mark with more than nine minutes still remaining in the second half in cruising to a 91-76 win over the Owls Monday evening at the State Farm Fieldhouse in Kissimmee, Florida.

The reigning Big West champions, who have now won 35 of their last 39 games dating back to last season, did not look like a team that lost its top six scorers from an NCAA Tournament team last season. UCSD (5-0) shot 62.5% from the field, the highest percentage Temple has allowed through five games. The 91 points allowed was also a season-worst mark for the Owls. 

Temple dropped to 3-2 with the loss and will play a consolation game Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against the loser of Monday night’s Bradley-Princeton matchup. 

After Temple got within 10 points twice in the second half, UCSD forward Leo Beath eventually became the main attraction. The Division II Lynn University transfer eventually scored 14 straight points for the Tritons to put his team up by 17 at 81-64 with 6:41 to go. Temple never recovered and trailed by as many as 19 points with a little less than two minutes to play. 

UCSD (5-0) entered the game shooting 50% from the field as a team this season, and Temple’s defense had almost no answers for the Tritons in the first half. They scored 47 first-half points and shot 60% from the field in the first 30 minutes while the Owls struggled to defend the paint and the three-point line. 

The Tritons opened up a 6-0 lead in the first two and a half minutes with threes from guards Aidan Burke and Tom Beattie. Temple’s offense came in averaging 81 points per game through four games and matched UCSD shot-for-shot during most of the first half. 

Most of Temple’s success came around the rim in the first 10 minutes. The Owls took their first lead at 17-16 with 12 minutes left in the first half after a pair of layups from guard Aiden Tobiason and forward Jamai Felt, then a three from guard AJ Smith. 

Temple was shooting 50% from the field through the first 12 minutes, but its offense began to cool off while UCSD stayed hot. The Owls went on a four-minute scoring drought as the Tritons took a 30-25 lead. Temple managed to punch back with six straight points, all from Manhattan transfer guard Masiah Gilyard, to take the lead with five minutes left in the first half. Gilyard played his best game in an Owls uniform to date, finishing with a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds. 

But the Owls went the next five minutes without a field goal and UCSD threatened to push its lead to double digits. The Tritons extended their lead to 43-34 with a 13-3 run that saw them get to the rim for open layups or easy, short jumpers. 

UCSD converted two layups in the final minute to push its lead to double digits for the first time, entering halftime up 47-36. The Tritons shot 8-for-16 from three and had eight different players score in the first half. The Owls made just three field goals in the final five minutes of the opening half while UCSD made its last seven shots. 

The Tritons looked to put the game away out of the locker room as Burke and Beath made back-to-back threes and forward Bol Dengit (12 points, four rebounds, four assists) made a layup to extend the lead to 53-38, their largest of the game at that time. 

The Owls’ offense prevented the Tritons from fully pulling away as they made five of their first six field goals in the second half. Temple shot just 4-for-14 from three in the first half, so it strayed away from shooting behind the arc and went into the paint to find points. Four of those five makes were in the restricted area, with the last one coming from forward Ayuba Bryant Jr. to cut the Owls’ deficit to 59-49. 

That was the closest they would get for the remainder of the game. 

UCSD kept Temple at arm’s reach as it consistently found holes in the Owls’ defense to remain up double digits. Beath, who started his college career at FAU two seasons ago before his Division II season, took command of the offense as Temple had no answers for the 6-foot-8 forward. He made his first eight shots of the second half and finished with 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting. 

The Tritons put the game into cruise control following Beath’s outburst as the Owls could not recover on the offensive end. Temple still shot 42.4% from the field and won the rebounding battle 35-30, but UCSD’s offense was too much to handle. 

Beyond Gilyard’s 16 points, Jordan Mason had 13 and Gavin Griffiths and Derrian Ford scored 10 apiece, although Ford shot just 1-for-6 from three-point range. UCSD made Tobiason a virtual non-factor, as the Owls’ second-leading scorer tallied just eight points on 3-of-7 shooting in 32 minutes.