Hawks fight back, knock off Owls

PHILADELPHIA - Carl Jones hit back-to-back three-pointers to key a 14-2 run in the final five minutes as Saint Joseph's (13-7; 4-3 A-10) rallied from nine points down to edge Atlantic 10 and Big 5 rival Temple, 70-69, before a sold-out crowd at Hagan Arena.

Ronald Roberts led the Hawks with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, while Jones and C.J. Aiken had 16 points apiece. Halil Kanacevic had 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

The loss ruined a career-high 34 point effort from Khalif Wyatt of Temple (14-7; 3-4), who made 11-of-24 from the field and 7-for-14 from three-point range.

Aiken put the Hawks ahead for good, 68-66, with a layup off a lob pass from Halil Kanacevic at :25. Roberts blocked a shot on Temple's next possession and Kanacevic grabbed the rebound. The junior hit both ends of a one-and-one to give SJU a 70-66 lead with 16 seconds to go.

Temple came right back down the court and Wyatt hit his seventh three-pointer of the game to pull the Owls within 70-69 with 10.4 seconds left. After Jones missed the front end of a one-and-one at :08, Wyatt drove the lane and the ball went out of bounds off the Hawks. Temple had one more chance with 0.7 seconds left and Wyatt's shot was off the mark.

Temple ran up its biggest lead of the game, 61-52, with 5:39 to play, setting the stage for the Hawks' comeback.

Temple, which held a 37-34 lead at halftime, was 11-for-31 from three-point range in the game.