Temple University Athletics
Owls Shock #8 Tennessee, 88-72
12.13.08 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA - When Dionte Christmas gets it going, there aren't too many teams in the country that can stop him. That list now includes the eighth-best team in the nation. Temple's senior All-America candidate poured in 35 points, including 30 in the second half, to propel the Owls past #8 Tennessee, 88-72, in front of a raucous Liacouras Center crowd on Saturday.
Playing in front of 21 NBA scouts and a nationwide audience on ESPN, Christmas had a chance to display his status as one of the top players in the country. He did just that.
His stretch of three straight three's in just over a minute of play midway through the second half electrified the near-sellout crowd on North Broad Street, many sporting Santa hats and cheering "Merry Christmas" during timeouts. The senior made five straight threes at one point during the second stanza, including his final triple at the 4:26 mark that gave Temple its largest lead of the game at 82-59.
"I got a lot of open looks today because of the style they play," Christmas said. "I had to take advantage of that and was able to knock some shots down."
The 35 points were two short of a career-high and came after scoring just four points combined over his previous three halves of play against Miami (OH) and Penn State. Christmas also tied a career-high with seven three-pointers.
"When you're hot, you're hot," Christmas said. "In the second half, the basket looked like the ocean to me. Every shot I took, I knew it was going in."
The win was the first victory over a top 10 opponent in Dunphy's tenure on the sidelines for the Owls (5-3). It marked the first win over a top 10 team since beating #6 George Washington, 68-53, in the Atlantic 10 semifinal on March 9, 2006.
Tennessee (6-2) was just the sixth top 10 team to visit the Liacouras Center in its 11-year history. The upset was the biggest in the building since beating #5 Michigan State, 60-59, on Nov. 20, 1998. The only other top 10 upset was over #10 Indiana, 71-64, on Dec. 14, 2002.
"It was a great effort," head coach Fran Dunphy said. "We played about as good as we can play. Everything came together in that one second half stretch where Dionte was unconscious."
With sophomore Lavoy Allen and freshman Micheal Eric in foul trouble, senior Sergio Olmos stepped up in a big way for TU. The 7-0 center scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while managing to stay out of foul trouble to play a career-high 39 minutes. He blocked five shots, tying a career-high, and altered at least five more.
Junior Ryan Brooks recorded his first career double-double, with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and his first-half three was called a game-changer by his head coach.
Utilizing the crowd's energy, which watched the 2008 Atlantic 10 Championship banner rise to the rafters prior to pre-game introductions, the Owls raced to an 11-2 lead after the first four minutes. Tennessee came back to tie it at 15-15 at the 11:22 mark but Brooks canned a three to give TU a lead it would not relinquish.
"Ryan stepped up and made a huge three," Dunphy said. "While he may not be our best shooter overall in terms of numbers, he's definitely our most clutch shooter."
The SEC's top offense at 87.1 points per game, Temple clamped down on the Vols, holding the visitors to a season-low 72 points. UT shot just 36% from the floor, but kept things close by shooting 16-for-17 from the line in the second half.
Tennessee drew within four, 52-48, with 11:16 to play. Christmas then scored 13 points over the next 90 seconds to give Temple a 15-point advantage. The lead would never get below double-digits the rest of the way.
The only thing in question over the final five minutes was how many students would charge the court at the final buzzer. The answer turned out to be just about all of them, as a Cherry clad crowd stormed the court to join an ecstatic Temple team at midcourt.
Tyler Smith, an All-America candidate in his own right, scored 17 points to lead the Vols. Bobby Maze added 15.
The schedule doesn't get any easier with a trip to #23 Kansas looming on Saturday. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2, with tip-off set for 2:30 PM (EST).
