PHILADELPHIA — Memphis basketball built a big lead early at Temple Thursday.

And, while the Tigers struggled to maintain it, Penny Hardaway's team hung on to win 84-77 at The Liacouras Center.

Memphis (17-6, 6-4 AAC), which climbed the famed "Rocky Steps" before the game, tried to knock Temple out early. It pushed out to a 23-point lead in the first half and led by 18 with under 12 minutes to play. But the Owls (8-15, 1-9) fought to keep it from becoming a runaway, cutting the deficit to just three points with 27 seconds left in the game.

Temple's efforts were aided by Memphis missing six free throws in the final 1 minute and 11 seconds. But the Tigers made enough to walk away winners.

David Jones, the Tigers' leading scorer, and seldom-used Jonathan Pierre hit big shots down the stretch to fend off disaster. Memphis, after backsliding to the NCAA Tournament bubble following an ugly four-game losing streak, has won back-to-back games.

With Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl champion kicker Jake Elliott (a former Tiger) looking on from his seat behind the Memphis bench, Jones dropped 23 points (to go along with 10 rebounds and six steals) and Jahvon Quinerly put up 19 (bouncing back from a 3-point night against Wichita State). Pierre had his best game as a Tiger, hitting three 3-pointers and netting 10 points.

Here are five observations from Thursday's win.

Establishing dominance, then losing it

Memphis jumped out to a 7-2 advantage in the early going. Then, Temple stormed back, taking a 13-12 lead.

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That's when the Tigers turned on the afterburners. The visitors rattled off a 31-7 run over a 9:29 span, led by as man as 23 points, and carried a 45-27 lead into halftime.

But Temple still had some fight left. The Owls, down 63-45 with 11:47 to play, used a 20-5 run to cut the deficit to just 68-65 with 6:06 remaining.

Nicholas Jourdain stomps on old stomping grounds

Nicholas Jourdain, a New Jersey native, spent three seasons at Temple.

When the Tigers' forward walked on to the court for pregame warmups Thursday, he couldn't help but smile. When the game started, Jourdain couldn't help but stand out.

Jourdain has struggled recently, averaging 3.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in the five games leading up to the matchup against his former team. But he snapped out of it, knocking down 10 points and grabbing three boards. He also had a block, a steal and two assists.

Jahlil White leads Temple's charge

After dropping a season-high 15 points in an overtime loss at Tulane, the Owls' Jahlil White kept it up with 20 against Memphis.

But he was only part of the story. Temple put five players in double figures. Leading scorer Hysier Miller finished with 12.

David Jones sharing the ball

Jones has established himself as a premier scorer and above-average rebounder. He entered play Thursday leading the AAC in points per game (21.8) and ranked ninth in rebounding average (6.8).

So far this season, though, his ability to make plays for his teammates has left a little to be desired. Prior to the Tigers' last two games, Jones was averaging 1.5 assists per game.

But his efforts to get others involved lately has paid off. In the win over Wichita State, Jones collected three assists for the second time in three games and it was the first time in four games he had more dishes than turnovers.

Jones did his usual thing in the points and rebounding columns. But he also had four assists, tying a season-high, to go along with four turnovers.

Jayhlon Young sits

The Tigers were down to one true point guard Thursday.

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Jayhlon Young, Quinerly's primary backup, did not play against the Owls. The UCF transfer, missing just his first game this season, was out of action thanks to an ankle injury.

In Young's absence, Jaykwon Walton assumed the bulk of the point guard duties when Quinerly wasn't on the court.

The severity of Young's injury is unclear. While he did not dress out, he was not wearing a walking boot or on crutches.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball hangs on to fend off Temple. Here are 5 takeaways