Temple University Athletics
Friday, March 15
Barclays Center
9:00 PM
Temple University
23-9
74
vs
79
Massachusetts
21-10
1
2
F
Massachusetts
37
42
79
Temple
38
36
74
Photo by: Mitchell Leff
Temple Falls To Massachusetts, 79-74, In A-10 Quarterfinals
3.15.13 | Men's Basketball
BROOKLYN, N.Y.— Temple's final bid at an Atlantic 10 Conference Championship before leaving the league came to a premature end Friday night in the Quarterfinal Round at the Barclays Center, as it fell to sixth-seeded Massachusetts, 79-74.
Senior guard Khalif Wyatt led the third-seeded Owls with 19 points, but it wasn't enough to stop the Minutemen led by their pesky junior guard Chaz Williams, who finished with a game-high 28 points.
Senior forward Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson, who registered a double-double a month ago when the squads clashed in Amherst, carried the Owls with a seven-of-10 night from the field on his way to 17 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds.
After six ties and 14 lead changes, no lead was safe until there was under six minutes left in the game when Williams drove through the lane and made a bucket to put UMass in front, 65-64.
Temple struggled from the field all night long, as it shot 41.9 percent for the game to UMass' more effective 49 percent.
Wyatt, the A-10's leading scorer and Player of the Year was held to just four field goals on the night on 19 attempts, which included an 0-for-12 stretch. His nine made free throws pulled him within two of breaking Hal Lear's record for made free throws (189) in a single season (1955-56) and helped him finish as TU's leading scorer on the night.
The Owls got off to a quick start in the opening minutes, grabbing their largest lead at five points, but from there it would be an up and down hill for both teams and would take on the trend of the Feb. 16 meeting in Amherst, which was a narrow one-point Temple win.
Before the opening half came to a close, the Owls recouped its five-point lead with two minutes remaining on a jumper by Hollis-Jefferson, capping a 16-8 run over five minutes for the Owls. UMass responded by closing out the first session with Williams hitting a pair of free throws and Trey Davis making a layup to cut TU's lead to one point heading into the break.
The Minutemen would carry their late first half momentum into the second half, helping them open up a five-point lead (43-38) in the first 90 seconds.
Senior swingman Scootie Randall kept the game from getting out of hand, as he sank a pair of three-point baskets to bring it back to a one-point game. Randall finished the game by going five-for-11 for 12 points, making him the Owls' only other double-figure scorer.
Hollis-Jefferson got the Owls the lead back with 12:48 to go when he completed a three-point play. From there, Temple was in control until the 5:57 mark when Williams knocked down a jumper on a fastbreak. Wyatt would quickly get the one-point advantage back in the Owls' favor when he drilled a jumper of his own, but UMass would go in front and keep the lead for good.
Graduate student T.J. DiLeo saw significant time off the bench, as he played 21 minutes and went a perfect three-for-three from the field – two of which came from three-point range.
The loss in the A-10 Championships is the second straight year that Temple's conference tournament run has ended at the hands of Massachusetts in the quarterfinals.
Temple, now 23-9 will now wait to find out its postseason fate on Sunday evening.
Senior guard Khalif Wyatt led the third-seeded Owls with 19 points, but it wasn't enough to stop the Minutemen led by their pesky junior guard Chaz Williams, who finished with a game-high 28 points.
Senior forward Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson, who registered a double-double a month ago when the squads clashed in Amherst, carried the Owls with a seven-of-10 night from the field on his way to 17 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds.
After six ties and 14 lead changes, no lead was safe until there was under six minutes left in the game when Williams drove through the lane and made a bucket to put UMass in front, 65-64.
Temple struggled from the field all night long, as it shot 41.9 percent for the game to UMass' more effective 49 percent.
Wyatt, the A-10's leading scorer and Player of the Year was held to just four field goals on the night on 19 attempts, which included an 0-for-12 stretch. His nine made free throws pulled him within two of breaking Hal Lear's record for made free throws (189) in a single season (1955-56) and helped him finish as TU's leading scorer on the night.
The Owls got off to a quick start in the opening minutes, grabbing their largest lead at five points, but from there it would be an up and down hill for both teams and would take on the trend of the Feb. 16 meeting in Amherst, which was a narrow one-point Temple win.
Before the opening half came to a close, the Owls recouped its five-point lead with two minutes remaining on a jumper by Hollis-Jefferson, capping a 16-8 run over five minutes for the Owls. UMass responded by closing out the first session with Williams hitting a pair of free throws and Trey Davis making a layup to cut TU's lead to one point heading into the break.
The Minutemen would carry their late first half momentum into the second half, helping them open up a five-point lead (43-38) in the first 90 seconds.
Senior swingman Scootie Randall kept the game from getting out of hand, as he sank a pair of three-point baskets to bring it back to a one-point game. Randall finished the game by going five-for-11 for 12 points, making him the Owls' only other double-figure scorer.
Hollis-Jefferson got the Owls the lead back with 12:48 to go when he completed a three-point play. From there, Temple was in control until the 5:57 mark when Williams knocked down a jumper on a fastbreak. Wyatt would quickly get the one-point advantage back in the Owls' favor when he drilled a jumper of his own, but UMass would go in front and keep the lead for good.
Graduate student T.J. DiLeo saw significant time off the bench, as he played 21 minutes and went a perfect three-for-three from the field – two of which came from three-point range.
The loss in the A-10 Championships is the second straight year that Temple's conference tournament run has ended at the hands of Massachusetts in the quarterfinals.
Temple, now 23-9 will now wait to find out its postseason fate on Sunday evening.
Team Stats
UMASS
TU
FG%
.490
.419
3FG%
.375
.296
FT%
.852
.933
RB
40
23
TO
19
10
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
9
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
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