Temple University Athletics
MEN'S BASKETBALL CONCLUDES SEASON WITH 63-58 OVERTIME LOSS TO MINNESOTA IN NIT QUARTERFINAL AT THE LIACOURAS CENTER
3.27.03 | Men's Basketball
Brian Polk led Temple with 19 points, including five three-pointers. David Hawkins added 14 points but converted on just four of his 16 attempts from the field for the Owls, who shot only 26.9 percent (18-67) for the game.
Rick Rickert, who had 13 rebounds and 15 points, led the Golden Gophers balanced offensive attack. Michael Bauer added 12 points as Maurice Hargrow and Kevin Burleson pitched in 11 points apiece.
A Rickert lay-up and Burleson three-point shot put Minnesota on top 5-0 early. Alex Wesby scored Temple's first points on a finger roll and Keith Butler added two free throws to cut the margin to one at 5-4. An ensuing three-pointer by Bauer put Minnesota up 8-4. Polk's first three-point shot of the contest, part of nine unanswered Temple points, put the Owls ahead 9-8. They continued an eventual 16-4 run and led by as many as eight points.
Jerry Holman's dunk with 3:14 to play in the half put the Gophers back on top, 26-24. The Owls responded as Nile Murry converted a four-point play after being fouled by Hargrow in the act of shooting from behind the arc. Polk added his fourth three-point basket of the period to give Temple a 31-26 advantage before intermission.
With Minnesota leading 46-42 in the second half, Hawkins exploded with a tomahawk dunk from the baseline that brought the crowd to its feet. On Temple's next possession, Collins hit a three-pointer that forced Minnesota coach Dan Monson to call a timeout with his team down by one, 47-46.
After another Temple three-pointer, the Gophers scored eight unanswered points to take a 54-50 lead with one minute remaining in regulation. Polk made a three-pointer, his fifth of the game, from the right win to narrow the lead to one. After a Minnesota turnover, Hawkins was fouled on a lay-up attempt with 13.9 seconds to play. He missed his first free throw off the back of the rim, but converted on the second to knot the game, 54-54, and force overtime.
Neither team scored in the extra period until a pair of Ben Johnson free throws gave Minnesota a 56-54 advantage at the 3:17 mark. Hargrow made one-of-two free throws with 1:45 to play in the extra session, but a Bauer putback off Hargrow's miss extended the Golden Gopher lead to 59-54. A Hawkins dunk with 50 seconds on the clock cut the lead to three, but Burleson and Johnson each hit two free throws down the stretch for the eventual 63-58 victory.
Despite shooting just 26.9 percent in the game, Temple hung with Minnesota by forcing 17 turnovers. The Golden Gophers won the rebounding battle, 45-40, and outscored the Owls in the paint, 32-16.
Wesby, playing his final game in Cherry & White and the 122nd contest of his collegiate career, was forced to exit the game midway through the second half with an ankle injury.
