Temple University Athletics
Temple Falls To A-10 Leader Rhode Island, 85-77
1.20.07 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2007
PHILADELPHIA - Despite a career-high 31 points from sophomore guard Dionte Christmas, Temple dropped an 85-77 decision to Atlantic 10 Conference leader Rhode Island Saturday afternoon at the Liacouras Center. Junior guard Parfait Bitee and sophomore sharp-shooter Jimmy Baron each added 18 points while sophomore forward Kahiem Seawright collected a team-high 11 rebounds as the Rams improved to 12-8 overall, 4-1 in the Atlantic 10. With the loss, the Owls fall to 7-10 overall and 1-4 in conference play.
Normally a second half team, the Rams instead used the first 20 minutes in storming to a 44-29 halftime advantage. The Atlantic 10's top-ranked scoring offense (77.3 ppg.) shot a blistering 58.1 percent from the field while connecting on 33.3 percent (three-for-nine) of their attempts from beyond the arc in the first half. Junior forward Will Daniels, coming into the game ranking fifth among all A-10 scorers (17.3 ppg), led the way for the Rams with nine points while senior Darrell Harris added eight. Seawright chipped in with six points while grabbing a team-high five rebounds. The Rams out-rebounded the under-sized Owls to the tune of 19-8 in the first half and 39-28 for the afternoon.
"We only played the last 15 minutes of the game in all honesty and I give Rhode Island alot of credit for what they did," said Temple coach Fran Dunphy. "It was eerily similar to what happened last week at St. Joe's. The got out to a nice lead. St, Joe's made their run and it is just too little too late."
After both teams traded baskets to start the opening stanza, a Dion Dacons runner, that knotted the contest at five apiece, was followed by a 17-2 run from the streaking Rams that stretched the lead to 22-7. During that span, the frontcourt trio of Daniels, Harris and Seawright paced Rhode Island contributing 10 points.
After Dunphy burned a timeout with just over 11 and a half minutes remaining, the Owls would match the Rams offensive output the rest of the way with Christmas leading the charge. The A-10's scoring leader (19.4 ppg ) shot four-for-eight from the field and three-for-six from long-range en route to a team-high 15 first half points. Senior guard Dustin Salisbery, ranked eighth among all conference scorers (16.9 ppg), added nine points while shooting four-for-seven from the field.
Two of the Owls consistent avenues of production thus far this season, senior Dion Dacons and junior Mark Tyndale, failed to find a rhythm in the first stanza. Dacons, entering the contest averaging 7.2 rpg, went without recording a rebound while Tyndale (15.2 ppg) shot 0-for-five from the field.
The fifteen minute intermission didn't prove to cool off the hot-shooting Rams. Baron, son of head coach Jim Baron and the owner of a 51.8 percent shooting clip from behind the arc, buried two triples before Bitee added another that pushed the lead to 52-36 with 15:39 remaining.
After junior forward Joe Mbang drained the fourth three of the half for the Rams, the Cherry and White responded with an energized 14-6 run, triggered by a Tyndale triple and capped by a Salisbery trifecta, that cut the lead to 63-56 with 9:25 to play. After a woeful first half, the junior forward shot four-for-nine from the field en route to 12 points and a team-high six assists, while Christmas and Salisbery carried their scoring rhythm into the second stanza. Christmas stayed hot throughout adding 16 points while Salisbery contributed 13. Dacons responded to a slow first half in adding four points and swiping six rebounds in the final 20 minutes.
The Cherry and White would get as close as three with 4:11 remaining, but Baron's third triple of the half, following a Harris free throw, gave the Rams a seven-point cushion. Another late trey from Salisbery, his third of the game, brought the Owls back to six, but free throws down the stretch from Baron and freshman guard Keith Cothran completed the scoring.
The Owls return to action Wednesday night for a Big 5 clash with Penn at 8:00 p.m. The game will mark Dunphy's return to the Palestra, where he patrolled the sidelines for 17 seasons as the Quakers' head coach. The contest can be seen CN8 and will be broadcasted on WPHT 1210 AM.
NOTE: At halftime of today's game, Temple Athletics honored the 1986-87 Owls team that finished 32-4. In attendance for the first time this season was Hall of Fame head coach John Chaney. He was joined by players Howard Evans, Derrick Brantley, Mike Vreeswyk and Darren Pearsall, as well as managers John DiSangro and Robert Jones, and team secretary Essie Davis.
