Temple University Athletics
Temple University
Penn State
Men's Basketball Wins Defensive Struggle With Penn State, 45-42
12.5.09 | Men's Basketball
Ryan Brooks leads all scorers with 19 points
Boxscore Gallery
PHILADELPHIA - Senior Ryan Brooks tallied a game-high 19 points to lead Temple to a 45-42 win over Penn State Saturday afternoon. The 7,012 fans at the Liacouras Center witnessed the second fewest combined points in the arena's 13-year history as the Owls improved to 6-2, its best start since the 1999-2000 team also opened with six wins in its first eight games. Penn State, which has now lost its last six to Temple, falls to 5-3.
Ironically it was that same '99-00 season that the Owls and Penn Quakers, then coached by Fran Dunphy, played a 44-40 Big 5 thriller to combine for 84 points.
This game, a grind-it-out defensive struggle, was within one-possession for nearly the entire 40 minutes, which is not surprising given the way the Owls have been able to shut down opponents. Temple has held all eight of its opponents under their scoring averages, with six by double-digit margins. The Owls also have six times held foes under 4- percent shooting from the field, including 34.9 percent (15-43) in this contest.
The Nittany Lions built their largest lead, 16-9, midway through the first half. Temple quickly tied it on a trey by Juan Fernandez (6 points), one of only two (8 attempts) in the contest for the Owl guard.
Chris Babb, who led PSU with 11 points off the bench, drained consecutive threes to build the margin back to four, 22-18, with 4:33 n the clock. Lavoy Allen, who had a game-high 12 rebounds, and Brooks, hit jumpers on back-to-back possessions to tie it with two minutes to play. And that is how the half would end, 22-22.
The Owls took its first two-possession lead when Brooks converted a three-point play off a nice pass by Allen. The Temple co-captain hit the free throw, the first taken by TU, with 9:24 left in the contest, making it 34-30.
An offensive rebound and lay-up by Luis Guzman (8 points) gave Temple its largest margin of the game, 40-34, with 4:10 on the clock.
PSU All-America candidate Talor Battle, who entered the game with a 20.1 scoring average, hit two of three free throws and then added a fastbreak lay-up to cut the Nittany Lions deficit to a basket, 40-38.
Following a Guzman free throw, Bill Edwards made a runner to cut it to one, 41-40. Brooks then drained a jumper just inside the three-point line, but Edwards, fouled on the perimeter by Fernandez, closed it again with two free throws.
Leading by one, Brooks, who teamed with Guzman to help shutdown Battle, lost the ball in the lane, giving PSU a chance to win the game on a final shot.
Freshman Rahlir Jefferson then made two heady plays. The first, drawing a charge off Edwards at the top of the key with 14 seconds left, with the second calling timeout as Allen appeared to be losing possession on the ensuing inbounds pass.
Brooks then made two free throws to move the margin back to three, 45-42, and he teamed with Fernandez to keep Battle from even attempting a final shot to tie the game.
The Owls next travel to Miami of Ohio where they hope to avenge last year's 68-52 home loss to the RedHawks. That game will be broadcast on 1210 AM WPHT.
