Temple University Athletics
OWLS RIDE GREER'S 37 POINTS TO FIRST ROUND NIT WIN OVER FRESNO STATE, 81-75
3.14.02 | Men's Basketball
Temple rode Lynn Greer's 37 points and David Hawkins double-double to a first round 81-75 road win over Jerry Tarkanian and Fresno State in the Owen Corning National Invitation Tournament.
With Kevin Lyde on the bench just three minutes into the game with two fouls, the Owls leaned on their senior guard who poured in 20 first half points. The Owls also got eight quality minutes from reserve Greg Jefferson, who contributed two points and two rebounds.
The game started off with neither team having much success inside. Out of the Owls' first 14 shots, 10 came from beyond the three-point arc. Temple did jump out to an early 13-7 lead but with Melvin Ely scoring nine of the Bulldogs 12 points, the home team got back in the game and trailed by just two at 23-21 with 7:14 left. Nursing the two- point lead, the Owls went looking for Greer who buried back-to-back threes to put Temple up, 29-21 with 5:05 remaining before the half. However, the Bulldogs doubled up the Owls, 14-7 from there and trailed by just one at 36-35 at the half. Fresno State's Damon Jackson fueled the run with a pair of three-point baskets.
The first half saw the Owls throw up 21 three-point attempts while 15 of the 25 first half shots taken by Fresno State were from beyond the arc. The Owls were able to maintain their one point lead mainly because the Bulldogs shot just 7-for-13 from the foul line even though the Owls were held scoreless from the line.
The Owls opened up with seven uncontested points in the second half jumping out to a 43-35 lead two minutes and six-seconds into the second half. With the help of freshman Nile Murry's three-point basket, one of three on the evening for the youngster from Houston, the Owls took their largest lead at 53-42 with 12:14 remaining.
However, with the Owls holding a 61-52 lead, Damon Jackson hit three consecutive baskets from beyond the arc in 2:03 to knot the score at 61-all with 7:01 left. The Bulldogs would take their first and only lead of the second half following an Ely free throw. But, senior Alex Wesby drained back-to-back threes to give the Owls a 67-62 lead with 5:02 remaining, a lead the Owls would never relinquish.
Fresno State did get back to within two with 3:21 left but a Greer layup extended the lead to four and Temple would convert eight out of 10 free throws in the last 1:19 to seal the victory.
Along with Greer's 37, the Owls got 14 points and 10 rebounds from sophomore David Hawkins while Alex Wesby had 13 points and freshman Nile Murry added nine points off the bench in 15 minutes of action. Damon Jackson had 23 points for Fresno State while Melvin Ely had 19, but only six in the second half.
Up next for the Owls is a match up on Tuesday night against Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals. Although the site has yet to be determined, word after the game had the Owls once again logging frequent flyer miles, traveling down to thoroughbred country. Stay tuned.
