Live updates: UC basketball faces Temple in AAC tournament

Armed with 20 wins already, coach Wes Miller's University of Cincinnati basketball Bearcats open up their final American Athletic Conference tournament with a second-round game against Temple. The Bearcats are the No. 4 seed in the AAC while the Owls are at No. 5.

The teams split during the regular season with Temple (16-15, 10-8 AAC) winning in Philadelphia Jan. 1, 70-61. UC evened the series Feb. 22 at Fifth Third Arena with an 88-83 overtime victory.

What channel is the UC game on?How to watch the Bearcats play in the AAC tournament

The Bearcats (20-11, 11-7 AAC) enter the game as a five-point favorite.

UC leads by 10 at halftime

It's 37-27 UC after a sluggish start that saw them down 16-6. So, that's a 31-11 run. The Bearcats had the commanding lead despite only making one of their last 11 attempts. Dan Skillings Jr. leads off the bench with 11 points, UC is 3-0 when he scores 10 or more points. Landers Nolley II has eight, Viktor Lakhin six with four blocks. The rebounds are even 21-21. UC is shooting 44.1%, Temple 31.3%.

Timeout 3:49 first half.

UC is up eight, 31-23. Both offenses have cooled down as UC is just one for the last seven shots and Temple has missed their last four. The last basket was a Mika Adams-Woods right-corner trey. UC is outrebounding the Owls 17-15.

Bearcats take lead

Jeremiah Davenport just hit a trey from the Fort Worth Stockyards and Mika Adams-Woods just banked in the classic "Bill Raftery" kiss shot. UC leads 25-20 with 6:59 left in the half. They're on a 19-4 run since being down 16-6 early. Dan Skillings leads with nine points. David DeJulius has yet to score. For the record, UC's sax players were instrumental in a pair of missed Temple free throws with their frenzied stomping and catcalls.

10:40 first half, Bearcats making a little run

UC was down 16-6 but freshman Dan Skillings Jr. had consecutive put-back lay-ups to get UC within six at 16-10. He just was fouled by Temple's Hysier Miller and will go to the line to shoot three out of the timeout. Skilling had a career-high 15 against Temple the last time they played. He played at Roman Catholic High in Philadelphia, 1.6 miles from the Temple campus.

Wes calls time at 13:44, first half

Temple's Zach Hicks has drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to give Temple an eight-point advantage at 14-6. That's also a 9-0 run. 14-6 Temple.

First media timeout

With 15:35 in the first half, the Bearcat trail Temple 8-6 after a Hysier Miller trey found the cylinder. Prior to that, UC's Lakhin had back-to-back baby hooks for a 6-5 advantage. Temple has made three of four shots, UC, three of six.

Underway

Viktor Lakhin is playing sans headband today. The crowd in game one was here largely to see Houston. There are a fair amount of Bearcat fans. UC's first two shots have been missed 3-pointers. Temple leads 5-0 early around the 18-minute mark. Updates will continue around the breaks. Oguama with the first Bearcat bucket, so 5-2.