Temple University Athletics
COLONIALS TOO MUCH FOR ILL OWLS, WIN 74-58
2.5.05 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA -- Beating a talented George Washington team on any day is a challenge. Beating the preseason favorites in the Atlantic 10 with several players dealing with the flu is nearly impossible. Temple found that out the hard way on Saturday afternoon at the Liacouras Center in a 74-58 loss to the Colonials. The Owls had two regular starters, sophomore Dustin Salisbery and freshman Mark Tyndale, come off the bench after not practicing since Wednesday's win over Rhode Island. Two more starters, juniors Antywane Robinson and Keith Butler, also were dealing with the flu. G.W. had no sympathy for its A-10 rivals and used a half-court trapping defense to force a higher tempo and kept a crowd of 6,812 quiet for most of the second half.
"I started with guys who practiced," Chaney, who himself is fighting back illness, said in a raspier voice than usual in the post-game press conference. "None of these guys ended up with flu shots this year, because they weren't available."
Even the healthy Mardy Collins struggled. The junior scored 13 points, but shot just 5-for-17 and had an uncharacteristic six turnovers. He often found himself double-teamed and it seemed as if every turnover he made, turned into two quick points for George Washington (14-5, 6-3 A-10).
"It was just too much. They doubled him throughout the entire game," Chaney said. "For Mardy's six turnovers, they must have had 12 points. Every one was a breakaway. You just get caught trying to do too much."
Tyndale was a bright spot, despite playing under the weather and with a bruised knee suffered against Rhode Island on Wednesday. The rookie scored 17 points and tied a career high with nine rebounds.
"I didn't want to play him, unless I had to," Chaney said. "He kept saying he was ok, but he'll lie to play."
Butler played well for the second consecutive game, posting season-highs in points (10) and rebounds (12). Salisbery, despite fevers reaching as high as 104 earlier this week, gave a gutsy effort even though he was not 100%. The Lancaster, Pa. native played 26 minutes but scored four points on 1-for-9 shooting. "I told Dustin I didn't want him shooting jump shots, I wanted him to drive to the basket," Chaney said. "He's pretty loyal to that shot, that he normally makes. He just couldn't get it down today."
George Washington played more like the team that beat then #9 Michigan State and #12 Maryland on back-to-back days in December than the team that lost to Massachusetts and Richmond. The Colonials used a 1-3-1 half-court trap in the first half and took a 46-30 lead into the locker rooms. Temple (10-9, 6-2 A-10) had cut the lead to 30-26 on consecutive Collins dunks but G.W. went on a 16-4 run to close the half. Eight of the points came via a layup or dunk.
In the second half, the Owls drew within 13 points after scoring the first three points of the stanza. It was as close as they would get as George Washington stretched the lead to as many as 19 on several occasions. J.R. Pinnock came off the bench to score 18 points (7-for-10 FG) to pace G.W., while T.J. Thompson and Omar Williams added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The Cherry and White host Dayton on Wednesday at 7 p.m. With eight games remaining, every contest becomes a must-win for Temple to put itself into consideration for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Otherwise, the Owls will be required to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament, held March 9-12 in Cincinnati.
