Temple University Athletics
Temple University
Xavier
Men's Basketball Falls at Xavier, 88-77
1.22.11 | Men's Basketball
Randall sets career high with 28 points
box score | Fran Dunphy Media Conference
CINCINNATI, OHIO - Junior forward Scootie Randall scored a career-high 28 points and sophomore guard Khalif Wyatt was again strong off the bench with 19 points, but it was not enough as Xavier set a new Atlantic 10 record with its 35th straight home conference win, defeating the visiting Owls, 88-77 Saturday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd at the Cintas Center. Temple falls to 13-5 and 3-2 in the A-10 while Xavier improves to 13-5, 5-0.
Randall was on fire from the early going, single-handedly keeping the Owls in the contest at the start. The Communications Tech product eclipsed his scoring average (8.8 ppg.) in the first six minutes while scoring the Cherry and White's first 11 points.
“Scootie was great throughout," Temple head coach Frna Dunphy said. "He made some tough shots. He hung us in there in the first half as we were struggling to get points and he really rescued us."
Following a natural three-point play by Randall to make the score 16-11, Wyatt was inserted into the game and quickly made his presence known. The Norristown High product, who leads the team in steals despite averaging under 15 minutes per game, made a quick theft and was fouled. He drained both free throws and then a three-pointer to tie the game at 16.
Xavier methodically pushed the margin back to six, 26-20, on a three-pointer by Mark Lyons (19 points), but Wyatt and Randall answered with back-to-back threes, two of the Owls' eight in the opening frame, to lock it up again.
Consecutive points by Musketeer big men Jamel McLean (16 points) and Kenny Frease (11) made it 34-29, but then Juan Fernandez hit from long-range. It marked the first points by one of the Owls top three scorers on the season in the contest.
Fernandez hit another trey to cut the margin to one, 38-37, with 1:14 to play in the half, and Moore followed a three-pointer by XU's Jeff Robinson with two free throws, his first points on the day, to make it 41-39 at the break.
The second half started badly for the Owls as Allen, who played just seven first half minutes due to foul trouble, picked up two quick personals before the first minute had expired,
Junior forward Micheal Eric, who played a career-high 34 minutes, picked up the slack, scoring all six of his points in the final 20 minutes while posting game highs of 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Moore, who finished with 10 points and five assists, and Eric each scored six points as the Owls forged a tie at 51 with 14:28 on the clock.
Then Xavier went on a 10-0 run to take its biggest lead, 61-51.
After the teams traded baskets, Randall led a 12-2 Owl run, scoring seven in the stretch, to tie the game at 66 with 6:33 left.
Xavier's Tu Holloway, who had a near triple-double (21 pts, 9 rebs., 7 asts), drove through traffic to put XU back on top, 68-66. Wyatt then answered with one of his four three-pointers to give
Temple its first lead of the half, 69-68.
The Musketeers then proved while they have been nearly unbeatable at home (143-18) since the building opened 11 years ago, ran off seven straight points with a steal and lay-up by Dante Jackson c
capping it to give XU a 75-69 lead at the four-minute mark.
Wyatt drained another three to slice the margin in half, but Xavier was able to hold the Owls at arms length, hitting 11 straight free throws down the stretch, making the final score not indicative of how tightly the game was contested.
Temple's defense, ranked among the top 20 in the nation, allowed it most points in a game since a 92-89 overtime win over Rhode Island on Feb. 13, 2008. It also was the first time all season an opponent shot over 50 percent (31-59, 52.5%) from the field and over 60 percent (8-13, 61.5%) from three-point range.
"Our transition defense was as bad as it has ever been," Dunphy said on the defensive lapse. "And you give a lot of credit to Xavier because they saw it and ran the floor well. They also hit some big shots."
Temple next hosts Charlotte on Wednesday (7:00 p.m./The Comcast Network).
