EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Terrance Meade made five 3-pointers on his way to 19 points Tuesday night as No. 22 Alabama held off a furious rally for a 70-67 victory over the Temple Owls.
A 3-pointer by Temple freshman Nile Murry forged a 28-28 tie before Alabama (8-2) used a 12-2 run to take command. Meade had eight points in the run, including a 3-pointer to cap it with just over 16 minutes to go.
The Owls (3-5) got within 47-44 on a 3-pointer by David Hawkins with 10:11 left. The Crimson Tide responded by scoring 15 of the next 18 points, including six by Erwin Dudley, for a 62-47 advantage with 4:17 remaining.
Rod Grizzard's two free throws gave Alabama a 64-55 lead with 1:24 to play before the Owls went to full-court pressure. Hawkins had a pair of baskets to get Temple within 64-62 and the Owls forced another turnover, but Hawkins missed a 3-pointer that would have given them the lead.
The Owls had one last chance to tie when Alabama's Travis Stinnett left the door open by making 1-of-2 foul shots for a 67-64 lead with 18 seconds to play. But the Crimson Tide trapped Lynn Greer and freshman Maurice Williams came up with a steal.
Alabama made three free throws to offset a meaningless 3-pointer by Greer at the buzzer.
Greer scored 19 points to lead Temple, which dropped its third straight and fell to 0-4 against ranked opponents.
