Temple University Athletics
La SALLE STUNS TEMPLE IN ATLANTIC 10 QUARTERFINAL, 72-66
3.7.02 | Men's Basketball
For the Owls (15-14), the loss ended a run of 12 straight NCAA Tournament bids although an NIT bid is certainly a reality. Each and every time Temple made an effort to overtake the Explorers, guards Mike Cleaves and Julian Blanks and senior Rasual Butler had an answer.
The game started out tight as the teams exchanged baskets early on with Cleaves scoring the first seven Explorer points. The Owls, who would only lead twice in the first half by a single point, took their last lead of the first stanza (8-7) on a Kevin Lyde basket at the 14:47 mark. From there it was all La Salle. The Explorers went on a 13-2 run fueled by three-point baskets by Blanks, Jeff Farmer and Cleaves to open up a 20-10 lead. The Owls Lynn Greer hit back-to-back three's to close the gap to 27-22, but that's as close as the Owls would get as Explorer Reggie Okosa nailed a mid-range jumper with :02 left to give the visitors a 40-32 lead at the half. Cleaves led all scorers with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting while La Salle as a team shot 16-for-31 (51.6%).
The second half started with both teams trading punches as the Explorers scored their first five points at the foul line while Kevin Lyde, who had been sick for the last three days, dropped in back-to-back baskets. The Owls would close to within 48-47 following two baskets by sophomore Brian Polk, but an Explorer 8-0 run put La Salle back on top, 56-47 with 10:27 left. Temple then went on a 14-3 run over the next 3:42 highlighted by five consecutive points by Polk to take a 62-61 lead with 5:12 remaining. But Cleaves, who had a career-high 28 points, scored six points down the stretch ending Temple's hopes of winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship for a third consecutive year.
The Owls were led by their seniors as Greer notched 20 points while Lyde chipped in with 19 points and eight rebounds. Delaware native, Brian Polk, who was named the Sixth Man of the Year in the Atlantic 10, came off the bench to add 16 points for the Owls.
The Owls will now have to sit and wait for hopefully an NIT bid that would keep their postseason streak alive, which is currently at 19 straight years. The NIT bids will be announced on Sunday night.
