Houston 89, Temple 79: TaShawn Thomas recorded 24 points, four rebounds and three assists as the visiting Cougars downed the Owls.

Danrad Knowles added 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting for Houston (15-14, 7-9 AAC), which finished 18-of-21 from the free-throw line. Danuel House notched 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds while Jherrod Stiggers tallied 10 points for the Cougars, who shot a sizzling 61.5 percent from the floor en route to their third straight win.

Dalton Pepper led the way with 24 points for Temple (7-21, 2-14), which lost its fourth consecutive game despite committing just four turnovers. Will Cummings chipped in with 18 points and eight assists while Quenton DeCosey scored 12 points for the Owls.

House keyed an 18-1 run to put Houston on top 31-21 before Pepper sparked an 11-2 spurt to trim the deficit to one with just under three minutes left in the first half. Pepper led all scorers with 18 points in the opening period but the Cougars went 4-of-8 from 3-point range to take a 43-39 lead into the break.

Knowles triggered a 12-2 burst to stretch Houston's advantage to 10 with under 13 minutes remaining in the second stanza before Cummings split a pair of free throws to pull Temple within 63-59. L.J. Rose knocked down a jumper to give the Cougars their biggest lead of the game at 78-64 and they went on to snap a six-game losing skid on the road.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Houston's bench outscored Temple's reserves 29-10 … The Owls fell to 0-15 when trailing at halftime. … Rose dished out six assists and has 16 in his last two games.