If Temple is going to the Big East as expected, the Owls will take plenty of suspense with them.
Temple, ranked 22d, defeated La Salle, 80-79, in Wednesday's Atlanta Ten Conference and Big Five overtime thriller at Tom Gola Arena on a day when talks of joining the Big East were on the front burner.
With the win, the first-place Owls (22-5, 11-2 A-10, 3-0 Big Five) are a step closer to winning the A-10 title.
Ramone Moore scored five of his 18 points in the extra session to lead Temple to its 11th straight victory since losing at Richmond on Jan 14.
La Salle misfired on two would-be game-winning shot attempts in the closing seconds of overtime. After running time off the clock, Earl Pettis missed a three-pointer from the top of the key with three seconds left. Then, after the Explorers got the rebound, Sam Mills missed a three-pointer from the corner at the buzzer.
Temple also defeated La Salle (18-10, 7-6, 1-3) for the seventh straight time and 15th time in the last 18 meetings. As a result, the Explorers suffered just their second home loss of the season.
Temple's Khalif Wyatt sure looked Big East ready. The junior guard scored team-high 25 points. His highlight was his personal 10-0 run in the second half.
Wyatt's teammate Micheal Eric had his best game since returning from a knee injury. The 6-foot-11 center finished with a season-high 18 points, while forward Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson had 12. Point guard Juan Fernandez finished with 2 points.
La Salle's Pettis scored a game-high 33 points.
