Sean Kilpatrick finished with a season-high 29 points and the Bearcats (19-2, 8-0 AAC) staved off a Temple comeback to remain undefeated in the American Athletic Conference with an 80-76 victory Sunday.
The Bearcats are off to their best start since 2001-02 and their best start in league play since they went 8-0 in Conference USA that same season.
Temple attempted to tie the game again after Kilpatrick's free throws, but Josh Brown's layup was blocked by Jermaine Sanders with a half-second to play.
Temple's Dalton Pepper had a career-high 33 points, including the 3 that tied the game at 76 with 36.9 seconds left, for the Owls (5-13, 0-7), who have lost eight straight.