Temple University Athletics
TEMPLE'S ROAD STRUGGLES CONTINUE IN 62-56 LOSS AT LA SALLE
2.4.06 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA -- There is no place like home! The words Dorothy made famous in The Wizard of Oz are apt in describing the Temple men's basketball season. The Owls (12-8, 5-4), desperately seeking road wins to solidify an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, succumbed under a barrage of three-pointers to La Salle at a sold-out Tom Gola Arena Saturday afternoon, falling to the Explorers, 62-56.
"They played exceptionally well," said Temple coach John Chaney on La Salle. "They shot the ball and moved the ball. They did everything right. You have to give them a lot of credit."
La Salle clearly shot well, connecting on 14-of-28 from three-point range. Jermaine Thomas (six assists) and Tabby Cunningham (four assists) did a great job of working the ball around the Owls' zone, finding open shooters. Darnell Harris (19 points), who made five three-pointers in the first meeting, a 68-52 Temple win at the Liacouras Center on January 14, hit for the same number as did All-America candidate Steven Smith. Smith, who scored a game-high 21 points, made six-of-11 shots overall, and five of his seven three-point attempts.
At the same time Temple continued to struggle with its outside shooting on the road. The Owls made just three-of-23 from behind the arc (.130) and 22-of-59 overall. On the season, the Cherry and White are making just 28 percent of their three-pointers in road games, a far cry from their 39.2 percent shooting at the Liacouras Center.
"This is not a good team," lamented Chaney.; "It is fool's gold when you find a team that wins because it shoots the ball well. What happens when they don't shoot well. You have to have someone to carry the day. Mardy tried to do that one time to many."
Collins, who was held without a field goal in the first half, tried to single-handily bring his team back in the second stanza. Collins continuously took his man to the basket after intermission, scoring 14 of the Owls' final 23 points. But as Collins was scoring two-point baskets, La Salle was answering with three-pointers. That is not a good trade in any book.
After La Salle took its largest lead of the contest, 55-46 on a Harris three-pointer, Collins made consecutive baskets to cut the deficit to five (55-50) with 4:34 to play. Mike St. John then buried a three-pointer from the top of the key on the La Salle's next possession.
Wayne Marshall, who scored a season-high 15 points, muscled his way inside and was fouled on Temple's next two possessions. The Owl big man made all four free throws, and seven-of-eight on the night, to make it 58-54. Temple then made it 58-56 with just under two minutes remaining when Collins made a put-back following a La Salle turnover.
Harris then missed a jumper, but Smith was there for the rebound and was fouled on the follow attempt. He calmly made two free throws to make it a two-possession game (60-56) with 1:18 left.
Collins then turned the ball over while penetrating the lane. The Owls got the ball back as Thomas missed the front end of a one-and-one. Chaney then designed a play for Antywane Robinson (10 points) to take a three-pointer off a screen by Marshall. Robinson, the team's top three-point shooter, finally connected after missing his first six with 22 seconds to play, but Marshall was called for an illegal screen, negating the basket.
So instead of a 60-59 game, La Salle had the ball up four. Harris closed out the contest by making two free throws with 19 seconds to play.
Sophomore guard Mark Tyndale was held to a career-low two points in the contest on one-of-eight shooting. Collins, who led the Owls with 17 points, moved past Nate Blackwell (1,708 points, 1983-87) and into sixth place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,711 points. Next up is legendary Guy Rodgers (1,767, 1955-58).
It was a historic win for La Salle (13-7, 5-4) as it snapped a 15-game losing streak in Philadelphia Big 5 games.Both teams concluded their city-series schedule with identical 1-3 marks.
The Owls now must rebound and go back on the road to take on conference newcomer Charlotte on Wednesday (7:30 p.m./WPHT 1210 AM).
