PHILADELPHIA - Redshirt junior Pookie Powell scored a game-high 29 points, including a go-ahead three-pointer with under 40 seconds remaining, to help push the La Salle University men's basketball team past Big 5 rival Temple, 87-83, at Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center on Sunday. 

Senior B.J. Johnson added 25 points and classmate Tony Washington had 12 for the Explorers, who improved to 4-3 overall and a perfect 2-0 in Big 5 play. The Owls, who entered play a perfect 3-0 and No. 1 in the RealTimeRPI.com rankings after the first two weeks of the season, were led by 21 points from Quinton Rose. 

The Explorers struggled out of the gate, falling behind 18-8 after two free throws from Obi Enechionyia at the 10:24 mark of the opening period. To that point, La Salle was 4-for-17 from the field and had turned the ball over twice.

With the margin still 10 a minute later, three-pointers from sophomores Isiah Deas and Saul Phiri sparked an 8-2 spurt that brought the Explorers to within 24-20 with 6:54 left in the first half. Temple responded with back-to-back threes and rebuilt a double-digit advantage before the home team put together a final push to close the half.

Deas was the igniter, as his three jumpstarted a 14-6 run that put the score at 39-37 in favor of the Owls with just over a minute on the first-half clock. Temple closed with four straight points to go into the locker room with a six-point lead. 

Temple remained in front for the majority of the second half, pushing its margin to 66-55 with 10:57 remaining. But La Salle responded in a big way, with Powell scoring seven points during a pivotal 11-0 run that tied the game at 66-all with 7:29 on the clock.

The two teams jockeyed back and forth the rest of the way, making big shot after big shot in a classic Big 5 battle. Two free throws from Johnson tied the game at 76-76, before Enechionyia drilled a three with 2:51 left to put the Owls in front by three. Powell converted a pair of free throws and senior Amar Stukes did the same to give the Explorers their first lead of the game at 80-79 with just over two minutes to go.

Rose, who went 10-for-17 from the field and added seven rebounds, connected on a short jumper to re-establish a one-point cushion for Temple. Both teams came up empty on their ensuing offensive possession to set the stage for Powell's big shot. 

With time running down on the shot clock and Temple redshirt senior Josh Brown playing solid defense, Powell elevated and drained the go-ahead three from the top of the key with 39 seconds left. On the other end, Phiri came up with a huge steal and was fouled with under 20 ticks left. 

The Haverhill, Mass. product calmly knocked down his two free throws to make it a two-possession game, and Johnson sealed the victory with two free throws later and a blocked shot with time running down to put an exclamation point on the win.

After those two initial turnovers during the first half, the Explorers turned the ball over just twice over the remaining 29:36 and committed just 10 fouls for the game. Phiri played a solid floor game, scoring sevn points, pulling down six rebounds and dishing out five assists without turning the ball over in 35 minutes. 

La Salle will travel to Belfast, Northern Ireland for the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic on Dec. 1-2. The Explorers will take on Towson on the opening day of the event at 2:00 p.m. ET. The game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network.