Temple University Athletics
Owls Win Atlantic 10 Championship With 69-64 Comeback Victory Over Rival Saint Joseph's
3.15.08 | Men's Basketball
March 15, 2008
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J - Behind a huge second half rally, the Temple men's basketball team defeated rival Saint Joseph's 69-64 to win the Atlantic 10 Championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001. The Atlantic 10 Championship is the seventh in school history and first since 2001. The Owls have now won a season-high seven consecutive games and will await word form the NCAA Selection Committee on Sunday as to what their seeding will be.
Junior Dionte Christmas, named the Most Outstanding Player for the tournament, led the way for the Owls with 22 points on five three-pointers. The senior combo of Chris Clark and Mark Tyndale, both of whom head coach Fran Dunphy credited with getting this team to where it is, played crucial roles in the comeback. Clark finished with 10 points, but hit crucial three-pointers at the end of the first half to give the Owls momentum heading into the locker room and in the second half to give the Owls their first lead of the game. Tyndale, also named to the All-Tournament team, finished with eight points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Sophomore Ryan Brooks played a very critical role in the win, scoring 13 of his 15 points in the second half to help break the game open. Freshman Lavoy Allen scored eight points, pulled down seven rebounds and blocked three shots. Junior Sergio Olmos also added six points.
"I can't say I have a lot of things to say other than I'm very happy and appreciative for these student athletes that we have," said Dunphy. "This is just one of those teams that has great chemistry to it; they like one another. It just kind of came together."
In the first half, it looked as it Saint Joseph's might break the game open. The Hawks had build a 32-22 lead, Ahmad Nivins appeared unstoppable in scoring 12 first half points and the Owls couldn't seem to buy a basket. But a three-point shot by Clark with :05 seconds remaining cut the lead to single digits and swung the momentum in Temple's favor.
With the season on the line, the Owls came storming out of the gate to start the second half. Starting with an Allen dunk on their first possession and continuing with hot-shooting Christmas, the Cherry and White went on a 14-2 run, taking their first lead of the game when Clark connected on a three-pointer with 15:41 remaining, making the score 37-34. The Owls would end up shooting a sizzling 61% in the second half.
With the lead in hand, the Owls never looked back. The offense continued to score at will, building the Temple lead to 48-39 with 11 minutes remaining. The Hawks offense eventually got back on track inside the 10:00 mark of the second half, as Tasheed Carr's shot cut the lead to 58-55 with 4:32 left. But it was reserve Brooks who scored 10 consecutive points for the Owls during six-minute stretch that kept the Cherry and White on top.
With a postseason berth in sight, Tyndale took over late in the game. He connected on a crucial three-point play with the Hawks rallying, extending the lead to 61-55 with 4:11 left. Then, he hit Christmas for an easy lay-up to make it 63-55 with 3:19 left. The game was officially over when, with the Owls on top 63-59, Christmas stole the ball from Saint Joseph's Pat Calathes with 48 seconds remaining, forcing the Hawks to foul for the rest of the game.
"It's such a great feeling, words cannot describe," said Tyndale. "When I got here I just wanted to get to the tournament and that's what I did my senior year. It's better than not going there at all. It's going to be great to hear our name called on Selection Sunday."".
Fans are welcome to join the team and watch the NCAA Selection Show from the Draught Horse tomorrow at 5:30.
