CINCINNATI -- With Cincinnati trailing Temple by two points at halftime Wednesday night, Bearcats coach Mick Cronin needed to light a fire under his squad and change things up offensively.
"When you win a bunch of games in a row, you have to win different ways," Cronin said. "You have to be able to adjust. These games are all unique in college basketball."
Troy Caupain scored 18 points and Kevin Johnson and Kyle Washington each added 16, helping No. 20 Cincinnati win its ninth consecutive game, 81-74 over Temple on Wednesday night at Fifth Third Arena.
The Bearcats trailed 28-26 at halftime but switched to more of a pick-and-roll offense, allowing Caupain to get in the lane and kick to open shooters, resulting in 73.9 percent shooting from the field during a 55-point second half to extend their home winning streak to 19.
"It was a rough halftime speech," Johnson said. "We just had to figure things out. We were able to get outside shots. Things opened up for us."
The offensive efficiency was keyed by Gary Clark, who scored just seven points but had a career-high eight assists, and Caupain, who added nine rebounds and seven assists for Cincinnati (16-2, 6-0 American Athletic Conference).
Caupain had 14 points and five assists after halftime.
Cronin called Caupain's second half "the best half of basketball he's played all year."
Cincinnati was leery of facing Temple for the second time this season after narrowly defeating the Owls by five points in December in Philadelphia.
Temple came into the season with a three-game winning streak against the Bearcats, but Cincinnati swept the regular-season series for the second time in three seasons.
"They were a wounded animal, desperate for a 'W,'" Cronin said. "They always play hard."
Shizz Alston Jr. led Temple (10-10, 1-6) with 25 points, and Daniel Dingle and Quinton Rose contributed 12 points apiece. Obi Enechionyia added 11 before fouling out with two minutes left.
"I thought our defense in the first half was very good. It got us a two-point lead in the first half, which was great," Owls coach Fran Dunphy said. "I was very impressed with Cincinnati's execution and their ability to make shots in the second half."
The Owls lost for the sixth time in nine games.
Temple committed eight turnovers in the first 13 minutes, helping Cincinnati build an early lead. In fact, the Owls had three turnovers before attempting a shot as the Bearcats raced to a 6-0 advantage.
The Owls grabbed a 28-26 lead on a layup by Rose just before halftime.
Bearcats guard Jacob Evans, who was leading the team with an average of 12.5 points during the winning streak, had a team-high 11 points in the half. He finished with 15.
Alston, coming off a 25-point performance on Saturday against Tulsa, scored 10 first-half points.
Temple shot 61.1 percent from the field in the half to help overcome its turnovers.
It was Cincinnati's turn to get sloppy to begin the second half.
The Bearcats committed three quick turnovers, one on Alston's steal resulting in a layup to give Temple a 37-31 lead.
Tre Scott's layup helped Cincinnati regain the lead at 44-42 with 12 minutes left. It was the sixth lead change in the game.
Alston hit back-to-back 3-pointers to get Temple back within two points.
But Cincinnati rolled from there with Temple struggling to prevent Caupain from getting to the rim.
Caupain's drive resulted in a three-point play, helping Cincinnati match its largest lead to that point at 59-53 with fewer than eight minutes remaining.
"We didn't do very much right defensively in the second half," Dunphy said. "Give (UC) credit. They stepped up and made shots. But we gave them opportunities, so we have to improve our defense."
Caupain's drive and kick to Johnson for an open 3-pointer put the Bearcats ahead by nine and Temple never fully recovered. Johnson was 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
"We won because we had tremendous execution in the second half," Cronin said.
NOTES:
-- Cincinnati F Kyle Washington was named to the American Athletic Conference weekly honor roll after averaging 13.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in two wins last week.
-- Cincinnati leads the series 18-9, including an 8-2 mark at home.
-- The Bearcats haven't lost at home since falling to Temple on Dec. 29, 2015
-- Temple owns two wins over Top 25 opponents among its nine victories this season, having defeated then-No. 25 Florida State and then-No. 19 West Virginia.
