Temple University Athletics
Temple Travels To The Palestra For Sunday Showdown With St. Joe's
2.28.08 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's - Temple series has become the most heated rivalry in the Philadelphia Big 5 of late, and the temperature will be at an all-time high Sunday night (7:00 p.m./Comcast SportsNet/1210 AM WPHT) when the schools battle for a what is a critical Atlantic 10 Conference game. The Owls (15-12, 8-5) and Hawks (17-9, 8-5) are locked in a four-way tie for second place in the conference standings with both schools looking to seal one of the four byes in the A-10 Tournament.
The Cherry and White, who have lost 12 of the last 13 meetings in the series, will be looking for revenge after the last encounter with the Hawks on January 26, when Pat Calathes hit a three-pointer with 3.9 seconds remaining to give SJU a stunning 68-67 win in the Liacouras Center.
The Owls, under the direction of second-year coach Fran Dunphy, continue to be led by the one-two punch of junior Dionte Christmas and senior Mark Tyndale. Christmas continues to lead Temple and ranks second in the A-10 with a 20.1 scoring average. He also has made a team-high 88 three-pointers and needs just eight more to break the school season mark held by Lynn Greer (95, 2001-02). Tyndale, who will end his career as one of the top all-around players to don the Cherry and White, tops the squad in rebounding (6.7 rpg.), assists (4.0 apg.) and steals (1.6 spg.) while ranking second in scoring and ninth in the conference (16.2 ppg.).
Sophomore Ryan Brooks (8.7 ppg.) has provided an offensive spark off the bench while freshman Lavoy Allen (8.4 ppg., 5.7 rpg.) gives Temple a strong inside presence.
The Hawks, under the direction of 13th year head coach Phil Martelli, are coming off a tough 64-55 home loss to Saint Louis. Calathes (18.5 ppg., 7.9 rpg.) and junior Ahmad Nivins (14.3 ppg., 5.9 rpg.), both preseason first team all-conference selections, lead an SJU that starts five players that average double figure points. They are joined by senior Rob Ferguson (11.9 ppg.), sophomore Darrin Govens (11.1 ppg.) and junior Tasheed Carr (11.0 ppg.).
This is the 145th meeting in the series with Temple owning an 80-64 advantage.
