Temple University Athletics
MEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS TO ST. JOE'S, 73-59, IN A-10 SEMIFINALS
3.10.06 | Men's Basketball
CINCINNATI -- Saint Joseph's drained 13 three-pointers and used a stifling man defense to end Temple's quest for a seventh Atlantic 10 Conference Championship with a 73-59 win over the Owls in the A-10 Tournament semifinals Friday night at U.S. Bank Arena. The Owls (17-14) now must await a call from the NIT selection committee. The NIT field will be announced at 9:00 p.m. Sunday live simultaneously on ESPNU and ESPNNews.
The Hawks (18-12) broke down John Chaney's famed match-up zone with precision passing that led to 19 assists on 20 baskets. Senior point guard Dwayne Lee (14 points) directed the SJU attack, dishing seven assists. Fellow senior Chet Stachitas was the recipient of Lee's handiwork, tallying 18 points while connecting for a team-high five three-pointers.
Senior guard Mardy Collins, who scored just 11 points over the first two games, tallied a game-high 25 points for the Owls. Junior center Wayne Marshall was the Owls only other double figure scorer with 12 points.
The Owls could not muster any offensive flow against the SJU defense. The Cherry and White made just two assists all game and were ice-cold from the field, hitting just 19-of-59 shots (32.2%) and only two-of-18 from behind the arc (11.1%).
St. Joe's used a 9-0 run following the first media timeout to take the lead for good, 12-5, at the 13:10 mark of the first half. An 11-0 run five minutes later boosted the margin to 15 points, 28-13, at the 4:52 point of the period. Temple never got closer than nine points the rest of the way as Saint Joseph's had an answer for everything Chaney and the Owls threw at them.
Antywane Robinson, who led the Owls in scoring in their wins over Rhode Island and #6 George Washington, tallied just eight points on four-of-11 shooting. TU's main deep threat missed on all four of his attempts from behind the three-point line.
Saint Joseph's, who plays the winner of the Xavier-Fordham semifinal, posted its first win in eight A-10 Tournament meetings with Temple. Abdulai Jalloh (18 points) and Rob Ferguson (12 points) joined Stachitas and Lee in double-figure scoring.
The nation's leading free throw team, SJU made 18 of 24 from the charity stripe over the final 20 minutes with Lee converting on 11 of 12.
