Temple University Athletics
Temple University
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Western Michigan
Temple Defeats Western Michigan, 76-70
12.1.09 | Men's Basketball
Ryan Brooks tops Owls with 17 points
Boxscore
KALAMAZOO, MI - Ryan Brooks led four players with double figures, scoring 17 points as Temple defeated Western Michigan, 76-70, at University Arena Tuesday evening. The Owls improved to 5-2 with the win while Western Michigan fell to 2-3.
Three nights after questioning his team's toughness in a 55-48 loss to Virginia Tech in the Philly Hoop Group Classic, Temple head coach had nothing but praise for his charges.
"Toughness is what we always preach and we found a way to win the game," Dunphy said. "This is really a good win for us in a tough place to play against a well-coached team."
Brooks, who struggled early on to keep WMU senior guard David Kool (30 points) in check, had seven of his points in the decisive 16-2 second half run that turned a 50-46 deficit to a 62-52 lead.
The 6-4 senior guard matched his career high with 10 rebounds, and recorded his second career double-double.
Junior Craig Williams also helped to turn the tide, draining three long range treys in the run to account for nine of his season-high 14 points.
"Craig stepped up and hit some big shots down the stretch," Brooks said. "All in all it was a team effort."
The Owls, who made 6-of-11 (.545) from long range in the second half, kept the Broncos at arms length until the final minute. Trailing 72-64 with three minutes to play, Donald Lawson (14 points) made a layup to cut the margin to six. Neither team scored again until Kool, fouled on a lay-up, hit two free throws to close the gap to 72-68.
Freshman Rahlir Jefferson (9 points), who started the second half and played 22 minutes, broke free for a dunk off a Luis Guzman assist to make it 74-68 with just 19 seconds remaining.
Dawson scored with 11 seconds to play, but Williams iced the game with two free throws.
The first half was the highest scoring of the season, Temple jumped out to a 14-11 lead on the first three-pointer of'09-10 by Lavoy Allen (13 points). Western Michigan responded with a 14-2 run, led by Kool. The 6-3 senior guard scored 11 in the stretch, capping it by converting a three-point play after being fouled on a driving lay-up with 11:34 on the clock.
"He is a tremendous shooter," Brooks said of Kool. "You can't take him for granted. he was ready to play and I just did not do a goos job on him early in the game."
The Broncos kept the Owls at bay until the four-minute mark. Trailing 36-27, TU scored 10 straight points. A three-point play by Jefferson in traffic off a nice feed by Juan Fernandez made it 36-35 with 53 seconds to play. Allen then blocked a Kool shot on the baseline. Guzman rebounded and got the ball to Fernandez for a foul-line jumper to give the Cherry and White a 37-36 lead. It was short-lived as Kool connected on both ends of a one-and-one to give the Broncos the lead at intermission, 38-37. The 38 points is the most by a Temple opponent all season.
"I like to think we are a pretty good defensive basketball team," Dunphy said. "But I do not think you would have said that if you watched us in the first half. We did come around in the second half."
Temple returns home to host Penn State Saturday afternoon (Dec. 5, 4:00 p.m.). It is Parent-Child Layup Day for the Penn State game. Following the game, all kids ages 14 and under (with one accompanying adult) will have the chance to go on to the court to make a basket. The game can be access on OwlAccess via a pay-per-view videostream or a free audio stream.
