Temple University Athletics
MASSACHUSETTS HANDS TEMPLE SECOND CONSECUTIVE ROAD LOSS, 63-53 AT THE MULLINS CENTER.
1.19.02 | Men's Basketball
The Owls (6-10, 3-2), who never led in the game, found themselves down once again early as Umass (7-8, 1-3) nailed four three-point field goals to take a 16-9 lead with 13:37 left before halftime. Freshman Kyle Wilson drained two three-pointers to get the Minutemen off and running and the Owls could get no closer than six points before halftime.
With Massachusetts running two men at Owls' guard Lynn Greer, Temple could get little productivity from anyone other than forward Kevin Lyde, who finished with six first-half points. Unfortunately, Lyde would not score in the second half, although he did tie a career-high with 15 rebounds.
With both teams shooting 30.0% in the first half, the difference in the opening half was the five baskets from beyond the arc for the Minutemen to only two for Temple. The Minutemen also took advantage of their free throws, making all six while the Owls were just 5-for-10.
Trailing 29-21 at halftime, the Owls mounted a comeback with the help of Greer and freshman Nile Murry. Greer, the Owls All-America candidate who scored in double-figures for the 36th consecutive game, scored eight early points while Murry drilled a pair of three's as the visitors got to within 38-35 with 13:54 remaining.
Following a 30-second timeout, UMass hit four consecutive three-point field goals, sandwiched in between a Greer three, to take a 50-38 lead with 10:45 left. The final three-pointer was the last basket the Minutemen would make other than a layup by Eric Williams with 7:36 remaining. From that point on, the Minutemen kept the Owls at arms length by making 8-of-14 free throws to close out the game.
Shannon Crooks and Kyle Wilson paced the Minutemen with 17 points each. The Owls were led by Lynn Greer who had 23 points while Nile Murry chipped in with 11 on 4-of-5 shooting, including 3-of-4 from behing the arc.
Temple will host the Richmond Spiders on Wednesday night at the Liacouras Center at 7:30 p.m. It will be the first meeting between the two teams in Philadelphia.
