Temple University Athletics
OWLS' SHOOTING WOES CONTINUE IN 72-60 LOSS TO GW
1.4.06 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA -- When John Chaney's team is shooting well, it can hang with just about anyone in the nation. But when the Owls are misfiring, the wins are much harder to come by. Temple struggled from the field once again, shooting under 40% for the sixth time this season, and dropped a 72-60 decision to #19/20 George Washington in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams.
In all five of their losses, the Owls (6-5, 0-1 A-10) have failed to meet the 40% mark, including a 34.9% clip tonight. When TU hits 40% of its shots, it is 5-0 this season and 52-16 since 2001-02.
"We shot the ball real bad," Chaney said. "Other than Antywane (Robinson), there's nobody on this team that can shoot."
Mardy Collins provided one bright spot, moving past Temple legends Bill Mlkvy and John Baum and into tenth place on the all-time scoring list. The senior had a game-high 19 points for the second straight outing and now has 1,547 for his career.
"He's just a terrific player," GW head coach Karl Hobbs said. "The thing that makes him really good is that he's always under control and he rarely forces a shot."
Chaney tried to force the Colonials (9-1, 1-0), who prefer a fast-paced game, into an even faster style of play. GW, coming off its first loss of the season to then #19/18 NC State on Friday, remained calm, spreading the ball around and capitalized on 30 points in the paint.
Philadelphia product Maureece Rice, who prepped at nearby Strawberry Mansion, led George Washington with 14 points. Mike Hall (game-high 11 rebounds), Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Danilo Pinock all chipped in with 12.
Offensively, the Owls continued to struggle to find any rhythm. Collins provided most of the offense early, connecting on five of his seven field goals in the first half. Antywane Robinson, who has been fighting the flu for the past two weeks, scored 13 points but shot five-for-14 and had several open looks that did not drop. Dustin Salisbery had 11 points, but was one-for-six from behind the arc.
Wayne Marshall continued to become more of a presence on both ends of the court. He put up a season-high six shots, but only made one against an athletic GW frontline. Defensively, he pulled down four rebounds and blocked three shots, both season highs.
The Cherry and White led early as Collins (seven points) and Sergio Olmos (four) combined to score the first 11 points to put TU up 11-4. The Owls would lead by as many as eight points midway through the half but George Washington controlled play before the half and took a 34-30 lead into the locker rooms.
GW's lead reached as many as 15 (49-34) with 13:02 to play as the visitors opened the second stanza on a 15-4 run. Temple responded, cutting the deficit to five in the next four minutes, and had several chances to cut the lead to a single possession. The preseason A-10 favorite was too much down the stretch and held on for its fourth straight win over TU. The Owls own a 45-14 record in the all-time series.
"The trend is we don't have a good team," Chaney said. "They're a ranked team. They're supposed to beat us."
Temple visits the Palestra on Sunday for a matchup against city rival Saint Joseph's. Tip-off is noon and the game will be televised by the Atlantic 10 Network and can be seen locally on Comcast SportsNet.
