Temple University Athletics
MEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS TO WISCONSIN IN FINAL A-10 TUNE-UP, 80-67
1.2.03 | Men's Basketball
Temple (2-8) shot reasonably well in its final pre-Atlantic 10 Conference tune-up, connecting on 25-of-57 shots from the field to finish with a 43.9 field-goal percentage, more than six points higher than its season average. But the Owl defense was lacking, as Wisconsin (9-2) made 24-of-41 attempts from the field (58.5 percent), including a level 50 percent from the three-point arc (9-18). What's more, the Badgers dominated in the paint, reaching the foul line 27 times to Temple's eight and converting 23 of those chances. The visitors also commanded the boards, finishing with a 31-22 advantage in total rebounds.
The teams sparred evenly in the early going. A three-point field goal by David Hawkins at the 15:20 mark and a short-range jumper by Alex Wesby at 14:06 gave the Owls their final lead of the game at 12-11. Wisconsin responded with a 15-2 run including two three-pointers by Devin Harris and never looked back. Another Harris trey -he had five in the first half-- ran the margin to 40-26 at the 3:04 mark, but the Owls battled back to trim the halftime deficit to 42-31. Wisconsin's 42 points set a Liacouras Center record for points by a Temple opponent in a first half.
Wisconsin opened the second half with an 8-2 run that all but settled the issue. After trailing by as many as 18, Temple struggled to pull within 10 at 71-61, on a three-point field goal by Hawkins with 3:20 remaining. But it was as close as the Owls would get. Mike Wilkinson scored on an easy lay-up at the 2:35 mark and the Badgers netted seven-of-eight free throws down the stretch. The Badgers' final tally of 80 set a new single-game scoring mark for a Temple opponent at the Liacouras Center.
The Owls will open their 2003 Atlantic 10 Conference season at home on Sunday (Jan. 5) against George Washington in a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.
