Jan. 30, 2010
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA - Temple's Ramone Moore came off the bench for 14 points and the Explorers could not decipher the Owl defense in a 64-52 loss at the Liacouras Center. The Explorers fall to 11-10 overall, 3-4 in the Atlantic 10, while the Owls bounced back from a loss at Charlotte to improve to 18-4, 6-1 in the Atlantic 10.
Rodney Green led the Explorers with 13 points. Aaric Murray added 11 despite being limited to just five minutes in the first half with two quick fouls. Yves Mekongo also chipped in 11. Jerrell Williams pulled down a team-high nine boards.
Moore's 14 led four Owls in double figures. Micheal Eric scored 13, Lavoy Allen added 12 and Ryan Brooks chipped in 10. Allen earned the double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds.
This contest does not count toward the Big 5 standings as the meeting of the two teams on February 28 is the designated city-series match-up. However, the game did have a Big 5 feel to it as William "Speedy" Morris, former Temple head coach John Chaney and former Villanova mentor Rollie Massimino were honored at halftime for their induction into the Big 5 Hall of Fame yesterday.
Defense was the name of today's game as the Explorers were limited to 29.8 percent shooting from the field. However, the Blue and Gold played effective defense around the perimeter to shut down the Owls' outside game. The home squad went just 1-for-14 from 3-point range.
The Explorers came out the gate sharp as they opened a 7-2 lead four minutes into the game, until Temple head coach Fran Dunphy signaled for a time out. Mekongo got the team to seven points when he converted a 3-point play after driving through the lane for the layup and following up with the free throw.
After Mekongo's play and the ensuing time-out, the Owls responded with a 9-2 run to put the score at 11-9. The Explorers held their final lead of the game at 19-16 when Parrish Grant nailed a trey from the top of the circle at the 7:39 mark. The Owls responded by holding the Explorers without a field goal for over four minutes while building a seven point lead capped off by a tip-in by Lavoy Allen.
T.T. Carey broke the drought at 3:30 with a long three to cut the deficit to four, but that was the closest the Explorers would get the rest of the game.
The Owls pushed a six point halftime lead (30-24) to 14 three minutes into the second stanza. Mekongo hit two free throws to cut the deficit to 50-42 at the 9:23 mark before the Owls went on another run to go up 17 with 4:33 to go and seal the game.
"I think Temple was the better team from beginning to end," Head Coach Dr. John Giannini said. "The way the guard the ball is efficient. We couldn't score on them, they were difficult inside."
The Explorers also suffered the rare rebounding disadvantage as Temple won the glass game 38-36.
Giannini added: "We're a good rebounding team and they outrebounded us. They played hard. There are no secrets, they just have big bodies that want to get the ball."
A bright spot on the stat sheet for the Explorers was the free throw percentage. They went 12-for-14 from the line, led by Mekongo's 6-for-7 effort, for an 85.7 percent clip. The Owls went just 9-for-16 for a 56.3 percentage.
The Explorers return home to Tom Gola Arena on Tuesday (2/2) when they face Rhode Island starting at 7:00 PM.
