Temple University Athletics
Men's Basketball To Take On #9/9 Xavier On ESPN Thursday Night
2.3.09 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2009
CINCINNATI, OHIO - After winning seven of its nine January games, the Temple men's basketball team opens February with its toughest challenge to date, at #9/9 Xavier Thursday night (7:00 p.m.) on ESPN. The Owls (12-8, 4-2 A-10) will look to end the Musketeers (19-2, 7-0) 20-game home winning streak against A-10 teams.
Third-year head coach Fran Dunphy's Owls are coming off a 74-65 win over Richmond where five TU players scored in double figures for just the second time all season. Senior Semaj Inge matched his career-high with a team-high 19 points while senior All-America candidate Dionte Christmas, the A-10's leading scorer at 20.5 points per game, added 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Freshman Juan Fernandez turned in his best performance of his brief career, tallying a season-best 15 points while Ryan Brooks (13) and Lavoy Allen (10, 11 rebs.) rounded out the double-figure Owls.
Brooks (10.9 ppg.) and Allen (10.2 ppg.) join Christmas in averaging double figures while Allen tops the Owls and ranks fifth in the conference with a 7.2 rebound average.
Xavier, under the direction of fifth-year head coach Sean Miller, had a scare in its last home game, edging UMass, 82-80, on Saturday. The Musketeers have won 10 straight and have started 7-0 in conference play for the first time since 2001-02. XU is 10-1 at the Cintas Center this season with the lone loss coming to #13/13 Butler.
Junior Derrick Brown, a preseason first team all-league selection, leads a balanced Xavier attack with a 14.0 scoring average. Senior B.J. Raymond averages 13.2 points per game while C.J. Anderson (11.0 ppg.) rounds out the double figure scorers.
Temple leads the series, 10-8, but Xavier has won five of the six encounters on its home floor. The lone TU win at Xavier came on Jan. 22, 2005, 69-54.
