Temple University Athletics
MEN'S BASKETBALL EVENS RECORD WITH A 71-47 WIN OVER ST. BONNIES
1.19.05 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA -- With snow falling in blistery conditions on North Broad Street, Temple made itself comfortable within the warm and friendly confines of the Liacouras Center Wednesday evening and dominated a struggling St. Bonaventure squad, 71-47. The victory marked the first of 14 consecutive Atlantic 10 Conference regular season contests for the Owls, who recently completed the nation's toughest non-league schedule.
Due to the inclement weather, St. Bonaventure (1-14, 0-4) was late in its arrival to the arena and the originally scheduled tip-off time of 7:00 p.m. was moved to 7:30. Temple's size and defense then kept the Bonnies out in the cold, out-rebounding the visitors 50-31 and limiting SBU to 31.1 percent (14-45) shooting, including a 23.5 percent (4-17) mark from behind the arc. The Owls attempted 25 more shots than SBU but struggled from the field in the second half to finish at 38.6 percent (27-70).
All-America candidate Mardy Collins and freshman Mark Tyndale each scored 17 points to pace Temple (7-7, 3-0) in the scoring column. Collins, who entered the game as the nation's leader in steals (3.8 avg.), made two thefts and a career and game-high 12 rebounds to register his third double-double of the season. Tyndale cleaned the glass nine times to tie his career best in the category.
After establishing a 15-point lead (37-22) at the midpoint, Temple's advantage never dipped below 14 points and increased to 25 five times in the final eight minutes. The Owls played the latter stages with primarily reserves on the floor as all 11 available players in Cherry & White hit the hardwood.
Junior guard Wade Dunston scored 17 points to lead St. Bonaventure as just two visitors (Ahmad Smith, 12) managed double-figures.
Temple deposited six of its first eight shots en route to a 15-4 lead after a Keith Butler jumper at 14:43. St. Bonaventure made its first field goal on a Camara Yankuba jumper nearly three minutes into the contest and didn't tweak the twine again for another five minutes, when Dunston hit a trey at 12:15 to register a 15-7 deficit. Temple established a 13-point advantage on four occasions prior to the intermission and took its largest lead before the break into the locker room when Collins hit a jumper one second on the clock.
The Owls shot 45.5 percent (15-33) in the first half and connected on six of 16 three-point attempts. SBU made 34.8 percent (8-23) of its field goals and three of 10 from behind the arc prior to the midpoint.
The victory extends Temple's unbeaten streak at home against the Bonnies to 25 games. The Owls have now won six straight in the series and own a 44-6 advantage overall.
Temple, which took over sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 Conference, returns to the hardwood this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in a nationally-televised (ESPN) contest versus Xavier in Cincinnati, Ohio. It will mark the 15th meeting between the Owls and the Musketeers dating back to 1957 with series tied 7-7.
