Temple University Athletics
Temple Needs Overtime To Beat UMass, 80-70
2.10.08 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - Hooter the Owl and his furry mascot friends from around the area did most of the celebrating during the game on Sunday, but when the final horn sounded, it was the Temple bench that was able to revel in a hard-fought, 80-70 overtime win over Massachusetts on Sunday at the Liacouras Center. Freshman Lavoy Allen scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Owls in the first of a critical Atlantic 10 stretch that includes three top 25 teams in the RPI.
It was the Temple mascot's annual birthday party and fans were treated to more than just some cake and ice cream. The two long-time conference rivals needed an extra stanza to decide the 59th meeting between the two schools, one that could have gone either way during the final minutes of regulation.
Trailing by three with 3:18 to play, the Owls (12-10, 5-3 A-10) had several chances to tie the game but could not convert, as senior Mark Tyndale missed a lay-up with 2:22 left and a 10-second violation on the next possession gave the Minutemen (15-8, 4-5) the ball back with 1:53 to play.
Junior Dionte Christmas corralled a rebound after an UMass miss and launched a 90-foot pass to a streaking Tyndale. The athletic guard saved the ball from going out of bounds and tip-toed the endline before finding an open Chris Clark in the corner. The senior, who had set career-highs in his last three outings but was scoreless at that point, tied the game up with his three-pointer with 1:12 remaining.
Massachusetts' Etienne Brower missed a three with 38 seconds to play and Temple called a timeout to talk things over. Tyndale drove the lane with time expiring, but his shot went awry to send the contest into an extra frame for the fourth time in the series.
The overtime belonged to the Cherry and White, which finished the stanza on a 12-2 run. Sophomore Ryan Brooks, who was 1-for-7 from the field at the time, put the Owls ahead for good with his three-pointer with 2:49 left to make it 71-68. TU shot 11-for-12 from the free throw line in overtime and an impressive 22-for-24 (91.7%) for the game.
Tyndale was 10-for-10 from the line to account for half of his 20 points. It was the first time an Owl was perfect from the line, with at least 10 attempts, since David Hawkins was also 10-for-10 against Penn State on December 13, 2003.
The league's two top scorers, UMass' Gary Forbes and Temple's Dionte Christmas, had a tough time getting going offensively. Tyndale forced Forbes into 5-for-19 shooting for 12 points, while Christmas struggled from the field (5-for-16) but still corralled a team-high nine boards to go along with 16 points.
"I think Mark is developing into a pretty good defensive player," head coach Fran Dunphy said. "Forbes is a formidable guy and Mark did a terrific job when he was on him."
Allen shot 8-for-9 from the field and pulled down eight rebounds in his best outing of his young career. He combined with junior Sergio Olmos (10 points) to give the Owls a serious threat in the post.
"It was a place we could go to score some points," Dunphy said. "We didn't go there enough, to be honest. We are still a little hesitant to feed the post."
Brower led UMass with 21 points, while Ricky Harris and Chris Lowe added 14 and 11, respectively. The Minutemen continued to struggle at the Liacouras Center and are now 1-10 all-time at the arena.
The road does not get any easier for Temple, who hosts Rhode Island (20-4, 6-3) on Wednesday at 7 PM. The Rams are 23rd in the RPI according to RealtimeRPI.com, one spot behind Massachusetts, coming into today's game. The game will be video streamed on OwlAccess and on the radio at WPHT 1210 AM.
The stretch is a critical one for the Owls, who want to climb up the conference standings for one of the coveted four byes in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Following Wednesday's game, TU visits Dayton (#14 RPI) on Saturday.
