Temple University Athletics
MEN'S BASKETBALL MISSES THE MARK IN 59-52 LOSS TO RICHMOND
1.17.04 | Men's Basketball
All-America candidate David Hawkins, who entered the contest as the nation's ninth-best scorer, led the Owls with 26 points on 8-of-23 shooting. The senior was the only Owl to go to the free throw line, shooting 5-of-9 from the charity stripe. Backcourt mate Mardy Collins added 16 points on 7-of-17 from the field with seven rebounds. The rest of John Chaney's squad combined to shoot just 5-of-16 for 10 points.
Mike Skrocki led Richmond (9-8, 2-3) with 17 points, including 14 after halftime, and six rebounds. The senior converted on 3-of-4 from behind the three-point arc in the second half after failing to hit on any of his six first-half attempts. Reggie Brown added 14 points from the bench as Richmond's reserves outscored Temple's bench, 22-2. Point guard Tony Dobbins scored 10 points with five rebounds.
Temple, which shot 40.7 percent in the first half, cooled off after intermission, starting the second stanza by hitting just one of its first 12 field goal attempts. The Spiders capitalized on Temple's offensive futility, scoring 11 unanswered points to grab a 36-28 lead. Dustin Salisbery finally ended Temple's drought with a jumper with 13:25 remaining, but Skrocki buried his third three-pointer of the half on the ensuing possession as Richmond's lead ballooned to 39-30 with 13:10 to play.
Hawkins drained a three-pointer from NBA range with 7:18 left to cut the Spider lead to 44-40. The Owls then went scoreless for more than four minutes before a Hawkins jumper with 3:16 to play brought Temple to within seven points at 49-42. Temple came as close as four points twice in the final 1:32, but Richmond converted on eight-of-nine free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Collins and Hawkins were the lone Owls to make entries in the scoring column in the final 13 minutes of the game, tallying Temple's final 19 points. For the second-consecutive game, both members of the backcourt duo played the entire 40 minutes.
After the opening tip, Antywane Robinson connected on two quick baskets to give the hosts an early 4-0 advantage. Hawkins, who topped 20 points for the eighth straight game, then scored Temple's next 13 points as the teams remained neck-to-neck for the remainder of the half. Temple built a four-point advantage with 1:20 to play in the half, but Richmond scored five-straight to take a one-point lead with 29 seconds on the clock. Collins hit a running jump shot with three seconds left before the break to give the Owls a 26-25 midpoint advantage.
The teams combined for 58 three-point attempts in the shootout. After UR converted on just 3-of-13 from beyond the arc in the first half, the Spiders shot 6-of-14 on three-pointers in the second stanza, with Skrocki and Brown hitting three apiece.
Temple (5-8, 1-3) returns to action on Hall of Fame coach John Chaney's 72nd birthday, Wednesday, January 21, in an 8:00 p.m. tip-off against Penn at The Palestra. The game will be telecast on CN8.
