Temple University Athletics
Thursday, January 10
Cincinnati, OH
7:00 PM
Temple University
10-4, 0-1A10
52
at
57
Xavier
8-6, 1-0A10
1
2
F
Temple
26
26
52
Xavier
29
28
57
Photo by: Timothy D. Sofranko
Late Rally By Temple Comes Up Short In A-10 Opener At Xavier, 57-52
1.10.13 | Men's Basketball
| Box Score (PDF) | Gallery | Dunphy Media Conference
CINCINNATI, OHIO— Battling back from an 11-point Xavier lead, Temple exploded for a late rally to bring itself within two points, but after a rough shooting night against the Musketeers continued to plague them up to the final horn, the Owls fell short, 57-52, Thursday night at the Cintas Center. In what was the Atlantic 10 Conference play opener for both teams, sophomore Anthony Lee paced the Owls with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting and finished with a team-high seven rebounds.
Following its fewest first half points (26) of the season, the Owls came out of the break aggressive with a 9-0 run to go up 35-29, to mark its largest lead of the night.
Taking a timeout to quell Temple's sharp shooting in the early moments of the half, Xavier head coach Chris Mack motivated his squad to go on a 19-2 run over the next seven and a half minutes, propelling the Musketeers to a game-best 11-point lead at 48-37.
Temple broke out of its shooting slump and clawed back to within two points of the Musketeers with 5:39 to go.
On a 9-2 scoring spree that adjusted the score to 48-46, senior Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson, who dished out a game-high six assists, provided five of his 11 points during the three-minute stretch.
Sophomore Will Cummings, who played a key role in helping the Owls stay within reach in the latter minutes, hit a pair of free throws that put Temple within a bucket.
After the final media timeout, the Musketeers worked get back ahead by six points, but Cummings would not let it get out of a hand, as he dished an assist to Lee for a layup and then later on hit a jumper that gave the Owls hope at a comeback with 2:29 to go, as it trailed 54-50.
Hollis-Jefferson then cut the deficit tyo 54-52 with a basket at the 1:31 mark. Following a Travis Taylor (11 pts, 10 rebs) free throw, the Owls had two shots to tie,but first Khalif Wyatt and then Randall were off the mark on treys. Taylor then sealed the game with two more from the charity stripe.
Wyatt, the Owls' leading scorer on the season, finished with five points, one of which came at the charity stripe, helping him extend his consecutive free throw attempts made streak to 31.
Xavier's Semaj Christon led all scorers with 16 points.
As one of only eight A-10 schools ever to win inside the Cintas Center, the Owls lose a second straight regular season contest for only the first time since Feb. 28, 2009, causing them to drop to 10-4 on the season and 0-1 in A-10 play.
The Owls will return to The Liacouras Center for Saturday's 6:00 p.m. A-10 tilt against the Saint Louis Billikens (ESPNU/1210 WPHT AM).
CINCINNATI, OHIO— Battling back from an 11-point Xavier lead, Temple exploded for a late rally to bring itself within two points, but after a rough shooting night against the Musketeers continued to plague them up to the final horn, the Owls fell short, 57-52, Thursday night at the Cintas Center. In what was the Atlantic 10 Conference play opener for both teams, sophomore Anthony Lee paced the Owls with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting and finished with a team-high seven rebounds.
Following its fewest first half points (26) of the season, the Owls came out of the break aggressive with a 9-0 run to go up 35-29, to mark its largest lead of the night.
Taking a timeout to quell Temple's sharp shooting in the early moments of the half, Xavier head coach Chris Mack motivated his squad to go on a 19-2 run over the next seven and a half minutes, propelling the Musketeers to a game-best 11-point lead at 48-37.
Temple broke out of its shooting slump and clawed back to within two points of the Musketeers with 5:39 to go.
On a 9-2 scoring spree that adjusted the score to 48-46, senior Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson, who dished out a game-high six assists, provided five of his 11 points during the three-minute stretch.
Sophomore Will Cummings, who played a key role in helping the Owls stay within reach in the latter minutes, hit a pair of free throws that put Temple within a bucket.
After the final media timeout, the Musketeers worked get back ahead by six points, but Cummings would not let it get out of a hand, as he dished an assist to Lee for a layup and then later on hit a jumper that gave the Owls hope at a comeback with 2:29 to go, as it trailed 54-50.
Hollis-Jefferson then cut the deficit tyo 54-52 with a basket at the 1:31 mark. Following a Travis Taylor (11 pts, 10 rebs) free throw, the Owls had two shots to tie,but first Khalif Wyatt and then Randall were off the mark on treys. Taylor then sealed the game with two more from the charity stripe.
Wyatt, the Owls' leading scorer on the season, finished with five points, one of which came at the charity stripe, helping him extend his consecutive free throw attempts made streak to 31.
Xavier's Semaj Christon led all scorers with 16 points.
As one of only eight A-10 schools ever to win inside the Cintas Center, the Owls lose a second straight regular season contest for only the first time since Feb. 28, 2009, causing them to drop to 10-4 on the season and 0-1 in A-10 play.
The Owls will return to The Liacouras Center for Saturday's 6:00 p.m. A-10 tilt against the Saint Louis Billikens (ESPNU/1210 WPHT AM).
Team Stats
TU
XU
FG%
.339
.408
3FG%
.200
.286
FT%
.800
.619
RB
31
42
TO
9
14
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
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