Temple University Athletics
WILLIAMS AND DUNLEAVY LEAD # 1 DUKE PAST TEMPLE, 82-57
12.6.01 | Men's Basketball
Duke came out and pounced on the Owls early. The Blue Devils scored the first 10 points of the game before Temple sophomore, Brian Polk, who had a career high 20 points, buried a three from the right corner to cut the lead to 10-3. From there, the defending NCAA champions outscored the Owls 19-9 the next 8:44 to take a commanding 29-12 lead.
Duke found numerous open looks from behind the arc as Williams hit four three-pointers and Dunleavy hit three. Williams led Duke with 17 at the half while Dunleavy wasn't far behind with 16.
The Owls would cut the deficit to 41-28 at the half thanks to Polk, who led Temple with 10 first half points including a thunderous put-back dunk.
The Blue Devils would continue to find openings in the Temple zone, hitting three more from behind the arc in the beginning of the second half to extend the lead to 54-36 with just four minutes gone.
Lynn Greer, who has now scored in double figures in 25 straight games, tried to get the Owls back in the game. Greer scored 15 second-half points for a total of 22 on the night but it just wasn't enough.
Brian Polk was a shining star in the Owls loss. The sophomore from Harbeson, Delaware, was 7-for-10 from the field for the game including a second impressive slam dunk in the second half off a Greer miss.
Up next for the Owls is a matchup with Villanova as part of a Big 5 tripleheader at the Palestra Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
