Temple University Athletics
Temple Reaches Atlantic 10 Championship with 60-45 Victory Over Charlotte
3.14.08 | Men's Basketball
March 14, 2008
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J -- Behind a stifling defensive performance, the Temple men's basketball team grinded out a 60-45 victory over Charlotte in the Atlantic 10 semifinals at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. With the win, the streaking Owls now advance to the Atlantic 10 Championship game for the first time since 2003, where they will face arch-rival Saint Joseph's for the third time this season and a shot at the NCAA Tournament.
While the Owls will be playing Saint Joseph's for the 146th time on Saturday, the Championship game will mark the first time that the two schools have ever met for an Atlantic 10 Championship. The game will also serve as rubber match as the two city rivals have split a pair of epic contests this season, with the Hawks winning 68-67 from the Liacouras Center on January 26th and the Owls winning 57-56 from the Palestra on March 2nd.
"We are thrilled to be in this position," said head coach Fran Dunphy. "What more could you ask for? We are playing our rival in the championship game for a chance to make the NCAA Tournament."
Senior Mark Tyndale, playing with the added desire of trying to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his career, led the way for the Owls with 20 points and a season-best 15 rebounds. Senior Chris Clark came up big once again for the Cherry and White, scoring 12 points. The inside combo of junior Sergio Olmos and freshman Lavoy Allen dominated the paint all night. Olmos pulled down seven rebounds, including five on the offensive end, while Allen added six points and nine rebounds while playing all 40 minutes. Sophomore Ryan Brooks also added eight points, including several key baskets in the second half. Junior Dionte Christmas struggled to find his shot all night, scoring a season-low six points.
"You could see it in his eyes that he was ready to go," said Dunphy about the play of Tyndale. "He had it in his mind from the beginning that he didn't want to stop playing basketball for Temple."
The key to the Owls' victory was defense and rebounding. The Owls limited Charlotte to a dismal 27.1% for the game and out-rebounded the 49ers 48-28. With the offense not clicking on all cylinders for periods of the game and with first-team all-conference player Christmas limited to just six points, the Cherry and White used hustle and hard work to reach the title game.
Early in the second half, it looked as if the Owls might pull away from the 49ers. After leading 28-19 at the break, Christmas hit his first and only three of the game to make the score 36-21 with 17:11 left to play. But just as they did in previous night's comeback win over UMass, the 49ers crawled their way back into the game. As the Cherry and White's offense went cold, the 49ers began to heat up. Leemire Goldwire's (18 points) three-pointer with 7:00 remaining cut the lead to 44-39.
But that is as close as the 49ers would ever get. Brooks, who was the only source of offense for a majority of the second half, hit a lay-up to extend the lead to 46-39. Tyndale then responded with a three-pointer to bring the lead back to double digits with 4:31 remaining. The final dagger came moments later when Allen nailed a jumper from the foul line, making the score 51-39 and essentially icing the game.
The Owls will play Saint Joseph's tomorrow evening at 6:00 p.m. (ESPN/1210 AM WPHT) from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City for the Atlantic 10 Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament .
