NEW YORK _ What looked like a holiday blowout turned into a true character check for the Temple men's basketball team.
Trailing by 18 points with less than 13 minutes and 30 seconds remaining, the Owls defeated No. 25 Florida State in an 89-86 Thanksgiving stunner during the NIT Season Tip Off at the Barclays Center.
Temple (3-2) will face either West Virginia or Illinois in Friday's championship game. FSU (4-1) will play in the earlier consolation game.
Quinton Rose has yet to start a college game but that could change soon. The 6-foot-8 freshman, who scored a season high 14 points in Sunday's 88-67 win over Manhattan, far exceeded that output against a high-flying fast-scoring Florida State team.
Rose had 26 points off bench, continually taking on the bigger defenders and drawing fouls. He hit 12 of 15 free throw line.
Shizz Alston added 22 points for the Owls while Obi Enechionyia had 16 points, eight rebounds and six blocked shots.
The Owls took their first second half lead on Alani Moore's 3-pointer with seven minutes left that gave the Owls a 73-72 advantage. It went back and forth from there.
Leading 87-86, Temple's Dan Dingle shot an air ball with 19 seconds left. FSU got the rebound and eventually Alston forced a tie-up with the Seminoles, retaining possession with 4.6 second left.
Jonathan Isaac, the Seminoles talented 6-foot-10 freshman, then missed inside, Rose got the rebound and was fouled with 1.5 seconds left, and he made both free throws. A three-quarter desperation shot by Xavier Rathan-Mayes went off the rim as time expired.
