Temple University Athletics
Temple Hosts Charlotte On Saturday Night On ESPNU
1.23.09 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2009
PHILADELPHIA - The Temple men's basketball team, which has won five of its last six contests, hosts Atlantic 10 rival Charlotte (6:00 p.m./ESPNU/1210 AM WPHT) on Saturday evening at the Liacouras Center. Former head coach John Chaney and team physician Dr. Ray Moyer will be honored at halftime after being formally inducted into the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame in pre-game ceremony in Mitten Hall.
The Owls (10-7, 2-1 A-10) have won their last three home games by an average of 18.7 points per game and have topped Charlotte (6-11, 1-3) in all three 49er visits to the Liacouras Center, including a 75-61 victory on February 27, 2008.
Senior All-America candidate Dionte Christmas continues to pace third-year head coach Fran Dunphy's squad, leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring (20.8 ppg.). The 6-5 guard is currently seventh all-time at Temple in career scoring with 1,734 and needs 34 points to pass Guy Rodgers (1,767) to move into sixth place. He leads the team in steals (26) and is second in rebounding (6.4 rpg.), while shooting .455 from the floor and .400 from three-point range.
Sophomore Lavoy Allen (10.2 ppg.) connected on his first eight shots to score 16 points in a 65-40 win over Saint Louis on Thursday night. He leads the team in rebounding (7.1 rpg.) and is shooting .557 from the floor.
Junior Ryan Brooks, who held SLU leading scorer Kevin Lisch scoreless on 0-for-10 shooting on Thursday, is second on the team is scoring (10.6 ppg.). Sophomore forward Craig Williams (5.3 ppg.) is averaging 9.7 points per game since being inserted into the starting lineup on January 5 versus Kent State. The Owls are 5-1 with the St. Croix native in the starting five.
Charlotte won its first conference game of the season on Wednesday with a 69-64 overtime victory over UMass at Halton Arena. Senior Lamont Mack (13.9 ppg.) has scored 23 points in each of his last three contests and is averaging 21.0 ppg. in league play. RaShad Coleman is the only other 49er in double figures (10.1 ppg.) and is one of seven players to chip in with more than 8.1 ppg. DiJuan Harris is second in the A-10 in assists (6.0 apg.) for 11th-year head coach Bobby Lutz.
The all-time series is tied at 4-4, with Temple taking two of three games last season, including one in the Atlantic 10 semifinals.
