Temple University Athletics
Temple Comes Back To Beat Rhode Island In Overtime, 92-89
2.13.08 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - There was ample discussion in the post-game press conference about whether the Temple men's basketball team had "turned the corner" or "gotten over the hump." Head coach Fran Dunphy and senior Mark Tyndale downplayed the talk, but one thing is for sure, Wednesday's 92-89 overtime win over Rhode Island was a big one for a team fighting for one of the four first round byes in next month's Atlantic 10 Tournament.
"All I want to think about is enjoying this one for now," Dunphy said. "Then we'll worry about Dayton on Saturday."
"This was a good win," Tynadale said. "But we still have a tough stretch with games at Dayton and St. Bonaventure."
The improbable win, in which the Owls trailed by as many as 15 in the second half, vaulted Temple into sole possession of third place in the A-10 with seven games to play. Victory seemed unlikely after a poor first half showing by the hosts, as the Cherry and White surrendered a season-high 44 first half points and trailed by 12 at the break.
"For us to win this game in overtime is a great win for us," Dunphy said. "They haven't won 20 games because they can't play.
But after playing one of its worst halves of the campaign, Temple bounced back with one of its best. TU (13-10, 6-3 A-10) continued to chip into the Rhode Island (20-5, 6-4 A-10) lead on the shoulders of Tyndale and juniors Dionte Christmas and Semaj Inge, and finally tied the score on two Christmas free throws with 1:57 to play.
The junior hit a lay-up with 1:18 remaining that gave Temple its first lead after nearly 39 minutes of action at 76-74. The advantage did not last long, since Will Daniels (team-high 26 points) buried a jumper to tie it up at 76-76 with just under a minute left. Amazingly, the Owls led for only 21 seconds during regulation, but it was enough to eventually come away with a victory.
Inge, who tied a career-high with 17 points, had two chances late for the win, but could not convert. He took a long jumper with the shot clock expiring with 23 seconds to play and was just short on a three-pointer at the buzzer. The two plays were sandwiched by a big block by freshman Lavoy Allen at the other end, making it two straight games that the rookie has swatted away a potential game-winner in the final minute.
As is often the case in any competition, Inge earned a chance at redemption and took advantage of it. He scored five points in the extra frame, including a three-pointer that made the lead 85-78 with 2:50 remaining. The Camden, NJ native shot 7-for-10 with five assists and just one turnover in his best outing of the season.
"Semaj was great," Dunphy said. "He stepped up and made some big shots for us. I don't know if we win the game without him."
Rhode Island cut the deficit to 90-89 with seven seconds remaining on a Parfait Bitee three-pointer to make things interesting. Christmas was immediately fouled and made both foul shots to make the lead 92-89, and Jimmy Barron's three-pointer as the buzzer sounded was off the mark to give the Owls their fourth overtime win of the season without a loss.
The second half comeback would not have been possible without the play of Tyndale and Christmas. Tyndale filled up the boxscore, scoring 24 points, grabbing nine rebounds and dishing six assists while playing all 45 minutes. He shot 11-for-17 from the field and drew the unenviable task of guarding Daniels.
Christmas scored 27 points, including 18 after halftime, and also played the entire contest. The junior scored nine of Temple's final 11 points in regulation and defended Barron closely on his potential game-tying three-point attempt at the buzzer.
Allen (six points, eight rebounds and four blocks) and junior Sergio Olmos (eight points) combined to give Temple enough of an inside presence to play primarily with four guards--Tyndale, Christmas, Inge and sophomore Ryan Brooks--for the nearly the entire final 25 minutes.
The contest was in the middle of a three-game stretch against teams ranked in the top 30 in the RPI. Temple defeated Massachusetts (ranked #23 by RealtimeRPI.com), 80-70, in overtime on Sunday and visit Dayton (#28) on Sunday. Rhode Island is currently at #27 after tonight's loss. Temple stands at #61.
Bitee (17 points), Keith Cothran (14) and Lamonte Ulmer (10) joined Daniels in double-figures for the Rams.
The Owls improved to 8-2 at the Liacouras Center and have won four of their last five games. Next up for Temple is a visit to Dayton on Saturday at 4 PM. The game will be broadcast locally by Comcast SportsNet.
