Temple University Athletics
Temple Falls To Penn In Dunphy's Palestra Return, 76-74
1.25.07 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2007
Box Score | AP Photo Gallery 
PHILADELPHIA - For the days leading up to his return to The Palestra, Temple head coach Fran Dunphy insisted that the game was not about him. It was about his players, both the ones he currently coaches on North Broad Street and the ones he recruited and developed in University City. In the end, the story was not about the first Big 5 mentor to coach at two city schools. It was yet another fantastic city series finish at the fabled gymnasium on 33rd Street, as Penn senior Mark Zoller hit three free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining to lead Dunphy's former team over his current one, 76-74, on Wednesday night.
A first-half roll-out that paraded down the Penn student section summarized Dunphy's legacy at the school. "Thank you Fran Dunphy: 17 Years, 310 Wins, 10 Ivy League titles." But once the ball was tipped, it was Temple versus Penn in another Big 5 thriller.
The finish was fitting for the city series contest with two local players, Zoller and Temple's Dionte Christmas (career-high 34 points), shining as the minutes and seconds ticked toward zero. The final 46 seconds featured five lead changes with Christmas and Zoller combining to score the game's last nine points.
The Quakers' Brian Grandieri (16 points) hit a pair of free throws to put the hosts ahead, 71-70 with 46 seconds remaining. Christmas swished a pair from the charity stripe with 0:35 on the clock to give Temple the 72-71 advantage. Sophomore Sergio Olmos blocked Ibrahim Jaaber's shot on the next possession but Penn retained the ball.
Penn inbounded under its own basket and found a cutting Zoller in the paint for the lay-up to regain the lead, 73-72, with 22 seconds to play. Christmas then hit a clutch pull-up jumper to give the Owls back the lead, 74-73, with eight seconds left, but it was short-lived.
The Quakers (11-6, 2-1 Big 5) got the ball up the court quickly, leaving Zoller with a three-point attempt. The senior leaned into Temple's Dion Dacons, drew the foul and proceeded to sink all three foul shots for the 76-74 lead. Dustin Salisbery's desperation shot at the buzzer came up short as TU lost for the seventh time in its last eight tries.
"I was proud of Dionte to step-up and make a shot at the end of the game," Dunphy said. "We just needed a little better defensive stand as they rushed the ball up the floor."
Dunphy was reflective in his post-game press conference. After fighting all the attention he was receiving for returning to Penn, he finally embraced the experience Tuesday evening.
"It felt great [to return]," Dunphy said. "I coach college basketball. What an unbelievable experience that is."
"College sports is spectacular and it teaches you so many lessons," he continued. "I feel really good about our guys and I know our time will come."
He admitted that he was glad that the game, and the attention surrounding the humble first-year Temple coach, was over.
"I would like the game to come down to Dionte Christmas, Dustin Salisbery, Dion Dacons, Mark Zoller, Ibby Jaaber, Steve Danley," Dunphy said. "I'm just a coach and I'm a privileged guy to be able to spend nights like these in a Big 5 basketball game with this much intensity."
The Owls, which fall to 0-3 in the Big 5, led by as many as 19 points in the first half. Christmas was especially impressive, hitting his first five shots and scoring 19 points in the stanza on 7-for-8 shooting (5-for-6 from long range). Temple played with energy early on, extending its advantage to 38-19 with 4:47 to play.
But no games, especially Big 5 ones, are decided with over 25 minutes to play. Jaaber, who was held scoreless up until that point, scored 11 points in a 14-0 run that cut the TU lead to 38-33 with 39 seconds left before halftime. Christmas, the reigning A-10 Co-Player of the Week and league scoring leader, hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to put the Owls up 41-33.
After a Christmas lay-up opened the second stanza, Penn went on a 10-3 spurt to tie the game at 46-46 with 16:38 to play. The Quakers could not tie the game again for another 13 minutes and took their first lead since three minutes into the game on a Zoller lay-up with 3:07 to play that made the score 68-66.
Junior Mark Tyndale scored 19 points and dished a game-high seven assists for Temple. Jaaber (21 points) and Zoller (19 points, 10 rebounds) led Penn. It was the first win for the Quakers in the series since December 7, 2003, a 71-46 victory.
Temple (7-11) continues its three-game road trip on Saturday at Duquesne. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
