Temple University Athletics
Streaking Owls Dominate Rival Quakers 80-64
1.23.08 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - Head coach Fran Dunphy defeated his former squad for the first time since leaving for North Broad as the Owls dominated from the start to defeat Big 5 rival Penn 80-64. The Owls (9-8, 2-1) are now riding a season high three-game winning streak heading into Saturday's crucial Atlantic 10 battle with Saint Joseph's.
"I have great respect for the University of Pennsylvania, I had seventeen fantastic years there, but the nice thing about being a coach is that as soon as you toss the ball up, you are lost within the game," Dunphy said about facing his former school. Dunphy dropped the first meeting with his former squad last season when the Owls fell to the Quakers 76-74 at the Palestra.
Junior Dionte Christmas continued to be the offensive force for the Owls, scoring 24 points to lead all Temple scorers. Senior Mark Tyndale had a terrific all-around game, contributing 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Junior Ryan Brooks scored 15 for the Owls, connecting on three from behind the arc. Freshmen Lavoy Allen just missed a double-double, chipping in with eight points and nine rebounds. Senior Chris Clark also added eight points and three assists.
"We just came into the game with the same intensity that we came with for the Xavier game," Christmas said. "We didn't take those guys lightly. They are having a rough year, but their coach is doing a fine job with the them and I think they will be a very good team in the future".
Freshmen Tyler Bernardini scored 16 points, 13 in the second half, to lead the Quakers (5-12).
The win marks the first Big 5 victory of the season for the Owls, who improve to 1-1 in the city series. The loss puts the Quakers at 0-4 in Big 5 play this year.
The Cherry and White came out firing on all cylinders to start the game. Behind four three-pointers and several forced turnovers by the vastly improving defense, Temple quickly built a 12-0 lead within the first three minutes of the contest. While Penn put up a valiant fight for the rest of the game, the Quakers never got the lead down to single digits. The Owls would end up shooting 66.7% from behind the arc in the first half.
Following the hot start for the Owls, the teams traded baskets for most of the remainder of the half. After the Quakers cut the lead to 31-19 following an Andreas Schreiber jumper, Brooks hit a crucial three pointer that sparked an 8-0 run to keep the Quakers at bay before the half. The Owls went into the locker with a 41-22 advantage.
Even with the 19-point advantage, the Owls just couldn't seem to shake the Quakers. A monsterous slam by Tyndale put the Cherry and White ahead 65-48 with 6:27 to play and appeared to just about end the game. But the Quakers quickly responded behind the play of Bernardini, scoring seven unanswered to cut the lead to 10 with 4:45 to play. That is as close as the Quakers would ever get, as clutch shooting from Christmas and Tyndale would eventually ice the game for the Owls.
Temple is back at home on Saturday to host Big 5 rival Saint Joseph's in a crucial Atlantic 10 battle at the Liacouras Center (6:00 p.m./ESPNU/1210 AM WPHT).
