Temple Owls Luis Guzman (R) and Saint Louis Billikens Cody Ellis battle for control at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis.    UPI/Bill Greenblatt

Temple Owls Luis Guzman (R) and Saint Louis Billikens Cody Ellis battle for control at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis. UPI/Bill Greenblatt

Saint Louis men’s basketball coach Rick Majerus admitted his team got a little rattled in front of a veteran Temple team last night, letting a tight game slip away losing at home for the second game in a row 57-51 to the 20th ranked Owls.

Lavoy Allen had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Owls who are in first place in the Atlantic 10. The Owls (25-5, 13-2) have won six in a row and 14 of 16.

Willie Reed led Saint Louis (19-10, 10-5) with 16 points and Christian Salecich added 10.Temple used a 10-2 run down the stretch to break open what was a close game. The Billikens shot blanks for a span of 7:28 in the second half.