Temple University Athletics
Temple Travels To Towson For First-Ever Meeting With The Tigers
12.15.06 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 15, 2006
PHILADELPHIA - After a week off for final examinations, the Temple men's basketball team returns to the hardwood Saturday afternoon (2:00 p.m,/WPHT 1210 AM) at the Towson Center to face the Towson Tigers of the Colonial Athletic Association. The teams have never played each other, but the Owls are very familiar with the Tigers' senior guard Gary Neal, who starred at Atlantic 10 and Big 5 rival La Salle before transferring to Towson. The game will be televised live by CN8 and streamed on their website (www.cn8.tv).
Neal, the nation's leading returning scorer (26.1 ppg. in 05'06), leads the team and ranks 12th nationally in scoring with a 22.5 average. Prior to his arrival at Towson, Neal earned A-10 Rookie of the Year honors in 2003, averaging 18.6 points per game for La Salle. He followed that by being named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 as a sophomore in 2003-04. No other Tiger boasts a double-digit scoring average for third-year head coach Pat Kennedy's 5-3 squad.
Temple first-year head coach Fran Dunphy welcomes back junior Mark Tyndale. The 6-5 guard, who was academically ineligible for the first six games, was cleared to play Friday. Tyndale led the Owls in rebounding last year with a 5.1 average while scoring 10.9 points per game, tops among returnees.
Sophomore Dionte Christmas and senior Dustin Salisbery the Owls a solid one-two punch. Christmas leads the Atlantic 10 Conference and ranks 27th nationally with a 20.5 scoring average. Salisbery ranks second in the A-10 in scoring with an 18.7 average, while ranking third in the league with a 2.17 steal average.
Senior forward Dion Dacons tops Temple with a 7.5 rebound average while 7-1 sophomore center Sergio Olmos (3.7 ppg., 13 blocks) and 6-4 sophomore guard Semaj Inge (5.8 ppg., 2.5 apg.) round out the Owls' starting five. Junior guards DaShone Kirkendoll (8.8 ppg.) and Chris Clark (2.5 ppg., 3.3 apg.) give the team a spark off the bench.
Temple will be looking to rebound from an 80-71 loss to Cincinnati at the 2006 Atlantic City Lenape Trail Classic held at Boardwalk Hall on December 9. Christmas led the Owls with 20 points, his fifth straight 20-point game. Salisbery added 18 points and Inge scored a career-best 17 points.
