Temple University Athletics
Men's Basketball Relinquishes 25-Point Lead In 79-76 Loss To Charleston
11.17.07 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2007
Box Score|
Fran Dunphy Press Conference
SAN JUAN, PR - Dustin Scott drained a three-pointer at the top of the key as time expired to lead Charleston to an improbable 79-76 come-from-behind win over Temple in the consolation round of the ESPNU O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic Friday night. In a tale of two halves, the Owls took a commanding 50-25 lead into the locker room, but were outscored 54-26 in the second stanza. Temple concludes play in the three-game tournament Sunday at 11:00 a.m. EST against Marist.
"We had the game in our control," said Temple head coach Fran Dunphy. "We panicked a couple of plays...and then the momentum kept going the other way, and you know the last shot of the game is going to go - no question about that."
Junior guard Dionte Christmas scored 21 of his game-high 32 points in the first half as the Owls quickly opened a 10-point lead, 12-2, by the first media timeout. Charleston kept the deficit within reach until the Owls closed the half on a 16-4 run with senior guard Chris Clark connecting on a half-court heave at the buzzer to give the Cherry and White what seemed like an insurmountable 25-point lead at the break.
Christmas drained 10-of-11 free throw attempts in the opening stanza while senior guard Mark Tyndale scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half. The Owls' one-two punch accounted for 35 of the team's 50 points with Tyndale also collecting six of his seven rebounds before intermission.
Temple's defense was also at its best, forcing 13 Cougar turnovers in the frame. The Owls also held Charleston to 44 percent from the field, including just two-of-12 from three-point range.
Second-year head coach Bobby Cremins, who has amassed over 450 wins at Georgia Tech, revved up his charges at the break. Charleston came out with a full-court zone press which gave the normally reliable Owl ball-handlers fits the entire period.
Charleston forced 15 Temple miscues over the final 20 minutes. The Cougars' offense was equally impressive, connecting on 68 percent from the field and an equally strong 68.5 percent (7-12) from behind the arc.
"They did a great job," said Dunphy. "Their pressure was good and we made it even better."
Antwaine Wiggins led the Cougars charge, scoring 11 of his team-high 17 points in a 24 -9 run over the first 10 minutes to close the gap to ten points, 59-49. After the teams traded baskets, Charleston would forge a tie with 10 straight points over a 2:30 stretch to make it 65-65 with 5:44 to play.
Christmas, who posted his sixth career 30-point game, converted a three-point play when driving strong to the lane to give the Owls the lead again, 68-65. Charleston answered that with sox straight points, the last three coming on a trey from the left wing by Tony White (15 points) that gave the Cougars their first lead, 70-68, of the contest.
Christmas scored three straight Owl points as Temple regained the lead, 71-70, with 3:21 remaining. White then drained another three-pointer, this time from deep in the right corner to make it 73-71 in favor of Charleston.
Sophomore Ryan Brooks, who scored 12 points off the bench, hit a jumper in the lane to tie it, then following two Cougar free throws, hit a three-pointer from the right wing to give the Owls their last lead, 76-75, with 1:14 to play.
Jermaine Johnson hit one-of-two free throws to tie the game to set up the final possession for each team.
The Owls used their motion offense which found Christmas at the top of the key. The team's leading scorer drove to the foul line and pulled up for a jumper that rimmed out. Charleston, with no timeouts, moved the ball up the floor, and with less than one second Scott launched his only three-point attempt of the game for the game-winner.
"Thankfully it is early in the season and we have a long way to go," Dunphy said. "Hopefully we can get back on track on Sunday."
Temple had three players, Sergio Olmos, Lavoy Allen and Semaj Inge, foul out in the contest.
The Owls (0-3) will take on Marist Sunday in their final game of the tournament. It will be televised live on ESPNU and can be heard on The Big Talker, 1210 AM WPHT.
