Temple University Athletics
Owls Face Tough Road Task In Dayton Saturday
2.27.09 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2009
DAYTON, OHIO - Coming off a tough 70-63 home loss to Atlantic 10 and Big 5 rival La Salle Thursday night, the Temple men's basketball team must quickly rebound as the Owls travel to one of the Conference's toughest places, UD Arena, to take on the Dayton Flyers Saturday (4:00 p.m./Comcast SportsNet/1210 AM WPHT). Temple (17-10) and Dayton (23-5) are tied for third in the A-10 standings with 9-4 league marks so the winner will be in much better shape for an all-important bye in the first round of the A-10 Championships.
La Salle snapped Temple's eight-game win streak at the Liacouras Center as well as the Owls' season-best five game win streak. Lavoy Allen, the reigning Big 5 Player of the Week, has been the reason for the Cherry and White's recent success. The sophomore forward has averaged 14 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks over the last six games while hitting 68 percent (34-50) of his field goal attempts.
All-America Candidate Dionte Christmas continues to lead the Owls, while ranking second in the A-10 with a 19.4 scoring average. Junior Ryan Brooks (10.4 ppg.), who has scored double-figures in the last four games, leads the squad in three-point percentage (.411, 44-107). Sergio Olmos (8.0 ppg.) and Semaj Inge (7.3 ppg.) round out the starting five.
Dayton, under the direction of sixth-year coach Brian Gregory, has lost two straight for the first time all season. The Flyers, who lost junior guard Rob Lowery to a season-ending injury in their win over Xavier on Feb. 11, sport a balanced attack led by sophomore forward Chris Wright (13.1 ppg., 6.7 rpg.). Junior guard Marcus Johnson also tops double figures (11.9 ppg.) while junior guard London Warren (105 assists) is among the best distributors in the league.
The Owls lead the series, 14-10, but the Flyers have won the last two meetings, including a 77-66 decision at UD Arena last season. Temple is 6-4 against Dayton at UD Arena.
