Temple University Athletics
Temple University
18-5,(7-2,A-10)
George Washington
8-16,(3-7,A-10)
Men's Basketball Comes From Behind to Topple GW, 79-72
2.8.12 | Men's Basketball
Moore, Wyatt lead the way for the Owls
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PHILADELPHIA - Ramone Moore and Khalif Wyatt combined for 47 points and were both instrumental in a 13-0 run over a four-minute stretch to lift Temple to a 79-72 come-from-behind win over visiting George Washington Wednesday night at the Liacouras Center. It is the seventh-straight win for the Cherry and White, who improve to 18-5 overall and remain in sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 Conference with a 7-2 record. The Colonials lost their fifth straight to fall to 8-16, 3-7.
Early on the Owls looked like they thought the game was scheduled to start at the normal 7:00 p.m. instead of the 6:00 p.m. tip mandated by television. Temple, which has been shooting 53 percent from the field the previous six games, made only nine-of-28 of its shots in the first half (32.1%). Meanwhile, GW started off strong, scoring at will while shooting 56.7 percent from the floor to take a 41-29 advantage at the break.
One of the factors was that Wyatt was missing from the starting lineup, as he sat on the bench the first seven minutes as punishment for being late to a study hall session.
The Colonials continued to keep the Owls at bay in the second half, building the advantage to a high of 15 points, 49-34, on a Dwayne Smith (14 pts) jumper with 16:49 remaining.
Temple reeled off six straight points with Wyatt converting a lay-up off a Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson assist to cut the deficit under double-figures, 49-41.
Lasan Kromah, who led all GW scorers with 22 points, then made an easy lay-up off a Tony Taylor dish to start a 6-0 run by GW.
The lead hovered around double-figures until the five-minute mark. Then Wyatt took over. The junior from Norristown High scored 14 of his team's final 22 points to help lift his teammates to the win.
It was not all Wyatt though. Redshirt junior guard T.J. DiLeo drained a huge three-pointer, his only shot in the game, to cut the lead to four, 69-65. Wyatt then stole the ball and was fouled. He drained one of his career-high 12 free throws (13 attempts) to make it a one-possession game.
DiLeo then stole the ball on the baseline and dished to Wyatt for a runner in the lane, to cut the GW lead to one, 69-68. Moore then connected on a wide-open three-pointer from the top of the key for Temple's first lead, 71-69, since the 13:33 mark of the first half (11-10).
Neither team could find the basket over the next two minutes until Wyatt hit another runner in the lane, making it 73-69, with 34 seconds remaining. Hollis-Jefferson then made one of his three blocks in the game to give the Owls a needed stop.
Wyatt converted two more free throws to make it 75-69.
Kromah answered with a three with 14 seconds to play to cut it to a one-possession game with 14 seconds on the clock. Wyatt again connected on two free throws, and following a miss by Smith, Moore sealed the win with two more from the charity stripe.
The Owls looked like their old selves over the final 20 minutes, making 14-of-27 from the field (51.9%), while holding the Colonials to 37.9 percent from the floor.
Besides Moore and Wyatt, who each posted their A10-best ninth 20-point games of the season, Micheal Eric added nine points and six rebounds while Hollis-Jefferson had a team-best nine rebounds (six points).
Senior guard Juan Fernandez suffered a hip-pointer in the game. He played only 24 minutes and was on the bench the final 6:38. His status is day-to-day.
Temple next hosts Xavier Saturday night (9:00 p.m.) in a nationally-televised game (ESPN2). The Liacouras Center will be in "White Out" mode for the game with fans receiving "I Believe" t-shirts and rally towels on a first-come, first-serve basis.
