Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson scored 18 points and Temple broke open a tight game in the second half to beat Rice 77-63 Saturday night.
Temple (2-0) got the better of it after halftime, outscoring Rice 43-32 after leading 34-31 at the break. Besides Hollis-Jefferson, whose 18 points came on 8-for-10 shooting, Khalif Wyatt scored 17 points and Anthony Lee and Scootie Randall totaled 16 apiece. Randall grabbed 12 rebounds.
For Rice (1-2), guard Tamir Jackson posted a double-double (12 rebounds, 17 points). Nine of those points came on three treys, but Jackson was just 6 of 17 from the floor.
Julian DeBose scored 15 points for Rice and Keith Washington added 12. Rice made 8 of 23 3-point attempts. Temple had a decisive edge at the foul line, hitting 21 of 28 while Rice was 11 for 14.
