Temple University Athletics
SALISBERY LEADS MEN'S BASKETBALL TO 61-49 WIN OVER UMASS IN A-10 OPENER
1.5.05 | Men's Basketball
AMHERST, MA - On a night when both teams' shooters were colder than ice fishermen, Temple's Dustin Salisbery got hot at the right time. The sophomore guard, making just his second start of the season, scored 14 straight Temple points on six-of-six shooting, including all 10 in a decisive 10-0 run that put Owls ahead of UMass for good, 54-47 with 3:34 to play. Temple (5-5) would go on to defeat the Minutemen (6-5), 61-49, in front of 3,139 fans at the Mullins Center Wednesday night in the Atlantic 10 Conference opener for both teams.
"He has been the guy who will take big shots for us all along," said Chaney on Salisbery. "I wish some of it would rub off on some of the other guys. They have talent but I just do not know how to get them to understand they have to be a little meaner."
Mardy Collins, who posted his first career double-double, tallied eight of his game-high 18 points just prior to Salisbery's heroics to help bring Temple back from a 10-point deficit (42-32) with 11:29 to play. Collins also grabbed a career and game-high 11 rebounds as the Owls out-hustled the Minutemen on the boards, 48-36.
Junior Antywane Robinson kept Temple in the game in the first half, scoring 10 of his season-high 13 points in the frame. Robinson connected on four-of-eight in the first 20 minutes while his teammates combined to make just three-of-32 (9.4%) from the floor during the frame.
In what was touted as a battle of the top teams in the A-10 East Division, both Temple and UMass looked sluggish at the outset. Temple missed its first eight shots and following a Collins tip-in, proceeded to misfire another 14 in a row. Despite hitting just 1-of-23 attempts, the Owls still trailed by a mere eight points, 12-4, with just under nine minutes to play.
That is because UMass was misfiring at almost an equal pace, hitting just three of their first 16 shots (18.8%).
UMass head coach Steve Lappas, coaching in his 500th game, continued to frustrate the Owls with a defensive scheme directed at keeping the ball out of the hands of Collins and Salisbery. It worked well in the first half as the two attempted just 11 shots, scoring six points.
"They played us very much like they did the last year," explained Chaney, coaching in game number 1,001. "Playing Mardy with a box and then they put on a triangle-and-two."
The Owls looked to force the ball inside, which did not account for points, but did get both Minutemen frontcourt players -- Rashaun Freeman and Stephane Lasme -- into foul trouble. The two sat out much of the second half with four fouls apiece and scored just 15 points between them.
Trailing 25-21 at the half, Temple opened the second stanza by again missing its first eight shots. The Minutemen would gradually build the lead to double-digits, 42-32, with 11:29 to play. At that point, the Owls had made just eight-of-46 (17.4%) field goal attempts and it looked as if the drought would have no end.
Then the offense finally started to click.
With freshman Mark Tyndale, who will never have another shooting night like this one (1-20, 0-9), running the show from the point. Temple would proceed to make 12 of its final 20 shots from the field -- all but one coming from Collins and Salisbery -- to storm back for the victory.
Chaney, who ranted about getting his big men dogs in the postgame media conference - because "if you are scared, get a dog", had kudos for not just Salisbery and Collins, but also the play of sophomore reserve Dion Dacons. The Statesville, NC native did not score (0-5 FG), but did play solid defense on A-10 Player of the Year candidate Freeman, while grabbing a career-high six boards over 18 minutes of work.
Tyndale, despite his shooting, was also praised by Chaney for his work at the point. The Simon Gratz product contributed season highs in assists (5) and rebounds (9).
Freeman, Art Bowers and Maurice Maxwell tied for the Minutemen scoring honors with eight points apiece. Senior guard Anthony Anderson scored just five points on 1-10 shooting -- all from behind the arc.
Temple now must travel to Durham to take on fifth-ranked and undefeated Duke (10-0) at Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday afternoon. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 2:00 p.m.
