Temple University Athletics
COLLINS LEADS MEN'S BASKETBALL TO 73-56 WIN OVER MIAMI
11.27.05 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA -- Some players shy away from the spotlight while others relish it. Thankfully, for Temple, senior All-America Candidate Mardy Collins thrives when the bright lights are on him. In a duel between potential NBA first-rounders in Collins and Miami senior guard Guillermo Diaz that brought 24 scouts to the Liacouras Center, Collins shined, scoring 19 points and dishing seven assists, both game-highs, to lead the Owls (2-1) to a 73-56 win over the visiting Hurricanes (4-2) on Sunday afternoon.
The win was not a one-man show for John Chaney's team. Junior guard Dustin Salisbery, held scoreless at UCLA, added 16 points on six-of-eight shooting, including a perfect three-for-three from long range. Senior forward Antywane Robinson chipped in with 15 points (6-10, 3-4 from 3PT) while sophomore guard Mark Tyndale added 12 points.
The Owls shot a bristling 50.9 percent from the field and were even hotter from three-point range, connecting on 10-of-16 attempts (62.5%). Temple's started the game by draining 10 of its first 14 attempts, including four-of-five from behind the arc to jump out to a 26-9 lead with 9:01 to play. TU would extend that lead to 18 points on three occasions before exiting the floor at the half with a 36-22 advantage.
Temple's motion offense looked better than it has in the past few years in the first 0 minutes. The Owls finished the half hitting 56 percent from the field (14-25) and 75 percent (6-8) from three-point range. Salisbery led the way offensively scoring 13 points and hitting all but one of his six attempts from the floor. He also connected on all three of his three-point tries and made two steals.
The Cherry and White also did not turn the ball over until the final minute of the half, and ended the contest with four miscues. Temple, who has led the nation in fewest turnovers the last three years, is averaging just 4.3 turnovers per game after three contests.
Freshman center Anthony Ivory started the second half off with a lay-up to increase the Owl lead to 16 points, but a 10-0 Miami run cut the margin to six points (38-32) with 14:43 remaining. Robinson then hit a pull-up jumper and followed with a three-pointer to push the Temple lead back to double figures, but the Hurricanes refused to go away.
Diaz, who scored just six points on 1-of-10 shooting from the field, hit three free throws and freshman guard Denis Clemente, who tied Collins for game scoring honors with 19, drained a three-pointer with 9:28 to play to cap a six-point UM run that made it 51-47.
That would be as close as Miami would get, however.
Tyndale made two free throws and then took a feed from Salisbery off a steal and slammed home a dunk to extend the margin to 55-47. After a Robert Hite (18 points) lay-up, Collins would nail a three-pointer and Tyndale follow with a steal and lay-up to make it a double-figure lead, 60-49.
The Owls defense then clamped down, not allowing a Miami basket over the final eight minutes of the contest.
Collins put an exclamation point on the win, with a monster tomahawk slam with 1:20 to play to make it 70-54. Robinson then drained the Owls' 10th three-pointer of the night to end the scoring.
Temple (2-1) now travels to Rutgers for a Wednesday night game with the Scarlet Knights (7:30 p.m.).
