The Temple College men's basketball team faces a critical North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference road game on Wednesday evening, as the Leopards take on Hill College in Hillsboro.

Tip-off at the Bob Bullock Sports Center is 7 pm.

Temple took the first game with a 81-62 win at Kirby Johnson Court. Jaymes Brown-Peterson had 21 points, Roy Gardner added 18 points, and Josh Telfort added 15 and 11 rebounds for the Leopards.

Hamzah Abdullahi, Joshua Louis, and Temi Omotoyinbo each scored 10 points apiece for Hill.

Since that game, Temple is 4-2 and Hill is 3-3.

The Leopards are coming off an 85-74 win over Grayson. Roy Gardner led the Leopards with 31 points.

The Rebels have won three of their last four, which includes an 84-79 win over Weatherford on Saturday.

Temple (15-11 overall, 6-4 NTJCAC) has averaged 86.9 points per game and have allotted 84.5 per contest on average. The Leopards average 45.5% from the floor, 30.1% from beyond the arc, and 65% at the free-throw line.

Hill (7-16 overall, 3-6 NTJCAC) has averaged 64.2 points per game and has yielded 73.7 points per matchup. The Rebels average 41.4% from the field, 33% from behind the three-point arc, and coverts 63.6% from the charity stripe.

What a win means for the Leopards: With four games remaining, the Leopards are in third place, one game Collin for second place, and a game-and-half in front of Ranger in fourth. A win for Temple would pull the Leopards to within a half game behind Collin, who is off on Wednesday. A loss by the Rebels would plunge Hill into a potential fourth-place tie.

What a loss does for Temple: A Temple loss would drop the Leopards a game-and-a-half behind Collin for second. Hill needs the win to stay above a conference logjam chasing the fourth and final spot. Going into play on Wednesday, one game separates Ranger (4-5), SWCC (3-6), the Rebels (3-6), Grayson (3-6), and Weatherford (3-7).