Temple University Athletics
Owls Comeback At Dayton Falls Short In 70-65 Loss
2.28.09 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2009
DAYTON, OHIO - Dionte Christmas led a furious comeback over the final five minutes, but the Temple rally fell short at Dayton as the Flyers held on for a 70-65 win Saturday afternoon at UD Arena. Christmas and teammate Ryan Brooks each scored 20 points, tying Dayton's Chris Wright for game-high honors. The Owls fall to 17-11 and 9-5 in the Atlantic 10 Conference while the Flyers improve to 24-5, 10-4 in league play.
Christmas, who had been mired in a month long shooting slump from behind the arc (12-62), scored 14 of his points over the final six minutes, helping the Owls cut a 16-point deficit to as few as three points. The 6-5 guard, who passed former teammate Mardy Collins (1,919 pts, 2002-06) to move into fourth place on Temple's all-time scoring list, drained four of five threes during the TU run. He had made only one of seven in the first 34 minutes.
"They were probably more contested when he was making them than when he was not making shots," said Temple coach Fran Dunphy. "There was certainly a sense of urgency in his game and I think he responded well down the stretch."
Christmas' last three-pointer came with nine seconds remaining and cut the deficit to 68-65. Not one of the better free throw shooting teams, Dayton was clutch down the stretch, making all eight attempts over the final 2:16, including two by Charles Little with five seconds to seal the victory.
Wright, a preseason all-conference selection, scored the final six points of the half to give the Flyers a 36-26 advantage at the break. He then opened the second half with a dunk and a jumper to cap his personal 10-0 run. His biggest basket, however, came with just under 10 minutes to play, a monster one-handed slam that gave UD a 58-42 lead.
Temple then went on a 13-2 run over the next five minutes with Christmas (2) and Brooks combining on a trio of three-pointers. Dayton head coach Brian Gregory decided to slow the game down and his team held on due to its free throw prowess.
Sergio Olmos made all five of his shots from the field for 11 points, his eighth double-figure scoring game of the season. Lavoy Allen led all rebounders with 11, his fourth straight game with double-figure boards and 13th of the season.
Brooks matched his career-high with five three-pointers while posting a season-high in points.
"Ryan Brooks was very good today," Dunphy said "Everytime we needed a big basket he seemed to make it."
Luis Guzman played the most minutes (13) in a month, and dished four assists without a turnover.
Next up for the Owls is Saint Joseph's at the Liacouras Center on Thursday night (7:00 p.m./CBS College Sports/1210 AM WPHT). Now in fourth place in the A-10, the game is critical in terms of securing a first round bye in the A-10 Tournament.
