Temple University Athletics
MEN'S BASKETBALL EVENS RECORD WITH A CONVINCING 69-53 WIN AT RHODE ISLAND
2.11.04 | Men's Basketball
It was far from a one-man show, however. As usual, All-America candidate David Hawkins led Temple in scoring with 22 points. The nation's third-leading scorer extended his streak of 20-or-more points to 15 straight games. He has also at least tied for game-high scoring honors in each of those contests.
Sophomore Keith Butler was equally outstanding, tallying 11 points, eight rebounds and six blocked shots. It marked the first time the 7-1 center topped double figures in two months.
The game did not start out easy for the Owls. Rhode Island, 14-10, 3-7, came out smoking, hitting three of its first five three-point attempts, two by Philadelphia native Dawan Robinson (8 points), to take a 16-10 lead with 13:35 to play in the opening stanza. Temple would cut the margin to 18-16 following an Antywane Robinson three-pointer. The Owls then went on an 11-1 run over a five-minute stretch, opening up a 29-19 lead with 3:18 on the clock.
The Cherry and White would extend that to 13 points, 35-22, following back-to-back Hawkins' lay-ups before Dustin Hellenga, who tied for game scoring honors with 22, drained a three-pointer at the buzzer. It was his third straight home game with a basket in the final second, but it would also be the Rams' final three-pointer of the game.
Hellenga started the second stanza with consecutive follow shots to bring URI within six, 35-29. Hawkins then led TU on a 9-3 run, tallying seven points in the three-minute stretch to make it 44-32 with 13:53 to play. The two teams traded baskets before the Owls ran off eight unanswered points to take a 54-34 lead at the 8:25 mark.
URI would mount a mini-comeback attempt, scoring seven of the next 10 points, but a Collins' one-hand slam off a Hawkins miss started a five-point Temple outburst to effectively put the contest away.
The Owls shot a season-high 48.1 percent from the field and turned the ball over a mere six times. Temple also dished 13 assists on 26 baskets with Collins dishing five against zero turnovers.
Most importantly on the night Temple has taken a hold on second place in the Atlantic 10 East Division. The Owls (5-5) have a two-game lead over the Rams (3-7) while holding the tie-breaker due to the season sweep. UMass (3-6) is now in third place and will visit the Liacouras Center later on March 3.
The Owls will now bring their season-best three-game win streak into Saturday's nationally-televised (ESPN, 2:00 p.m.) game against Georgetown at the Liacouras Center. That will be the team's final non-conference game of the season.
The doors open for Saturday's game at 12:30 .p.m. as the First Annual Temple University Owl Club Auction will be held in conjunction with the doubleheader. The Temple women play St. Bonaventure in the second game starting at 4:30 p.m.
