GAME NOTES: The Temple Owls will try to continue their recent success today, as they host the struggling George Washington Colonials in Atlantic 10 Conference play at the Liacouras Center. The Owls have started to heat up after a sub par start to the season, as they have posted victories in four of their past five outings. The team was last in action on Thursday, when it downed Fordham, 58-50, on the road. Now at 10-9 overall and 3-2 in conference play, Temple returns back to the Liacouras Center, where it has gone 5-3 thus far. As for GW, it struggles continued on Wednesday with a 61-59 setback to Saint Joseph's. It is the fifth loss in a row for the Colonials, who dropped to 5-11 overall and 1-5 in conference play. To make matters worse, the squad now heads out to the road, where it has gone 0-8 up to this point. With respect to the all-time series, Temple owns a 46-16 lead over GW and that includes a 17-5 mark when playing at home.

The Colonials made just 5-of-19 shots from long range and only 4-of-10 at the foul line, as they dropped a two-point decision to Saint Joseph's earlier in the week. The team shot a solid 46.3 percent from the field to keep things close, but it also committed 16 costly turnovers. Rob Diggs guided GW in the setback with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Wynton Witherspoon chipped in with 12 points and five assists. For the season, Diggs leads the club in both scoring (12.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg) and he is also shooting 51.2 percent from the floor. Witherspoon nips at his heels with 12.5 ppg and he is dishing out 2.6 apg, while Maureece Rice chips in with 11.1 ppg. As a team, the Colonials have struggled at the offensive end of the court, averaging just 63.2 ppg on 41.4 percent shooting from the field.

The Owls did it with defense on Thursday, holding Fordham to a dismal 31.0 percent shooting effort from the field in an eight-point triumph. Temple itself, hit on 41.2 percent from the floor and it also converted 13-of-18 free-throw tries. Chris Clark came off the bench and led the charge with a career-high 16 points. Mark Tyndale registered a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Dionte Christmas turned in 13 points and eight boards. For the season, Christmas tops the roster in scoring (20.4 ppg) as well as rebounding (6.4 rpg) and he is also shooting 40.0 percent from beyond the arc. Tyndale has provided a nice complement to him, as he contributes 15.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg and a team-best 3.5 apg. Overall, the Owls are posting 69.2 ppg on 46.1 percent shooting from the floor and 37.8 percent from three-point range.

Temple is playing with a good deal of confidence right now and with Christmas and Tyndale leading the charge, expect the Owls to continue their winning ways today.