Return To Gotham

Khalif Wyatt was scoreless in the first half and had just eight points with two minutes to go against Detroit Thursday, but as the senior guard has done most of the year, he rescued the Temple men’s basketball team in the final minutes.

Wyatt scored 12 points in the last two minutes to rally the Owls past the Titans, 83-78, in the final game of the Gotham Classic. The contest was rescheduled from December because of weather. Temple went 3-1 in the tournament, including impressive wins over Detroit Thursday and Syracuse before Christmas.

Wyatt hit a layup to cut the lead to three at 74-71, banked in a three off a T.J. Dileo steal to tie the game, then drained a go-ahead three with 1:04 to play. The senior then iced the game with four free throws.

“He absolutely drives you insane, but you live with him because he can do extraordinary things,” said Temple coach Fran Dunphy. “T.J. made a great steal and Khalif pulls up and makes a great shot, and I’m sure he called bank. Then he lost his mind going through 11 guys, three guys off the bench and Hooter. But he’s an extraordinary player. I have teeth marks on my tongue from four years of watching it, but that’s Khalif.”

Wyatt said he didn’t worry after an 0-for-6 first half that also found the Owls down eight. Temple exploded for 52 points after the break, including all 20 of Wyatt’s points.

“I had a rough first half offensively and defensively, I was just thinking keep attacking down the stretch,” said Wyatt. “I had enough courage to take big shots. You have to take shots to make shots.

“It’s actually fun when it comes down to a couple possessions. I thought that game would be like that. We’re used to it by now. It’s good for us to go through these kind of games, so we can be ready to do it again. We don’t blow people out, it’s not what we do.”

Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson scored 13 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, Scootie Randall added 18 points and Jake O’Brien contributed 16 – on 6-of-6 shooting.

The victory gave the Owls 20 wins – they are 20-8 – for the sixth consecutive season, tying the mark of John Chaney’s Temple teams from 1995-96 to 2000-2001. Detroit, which was led by Ray McCallum’s 21 points, dropped to 19-11.

“(Chaney) came and talked with our guys (Wednesday) morning,” said Dunphy, who noted the speech wasn’t ‘youtube-able.’ “He’s a great friend, a wonderful man and more a mentor. The things he did when I look up at the rafters is impressive stuff, and he did it his way. When you call his cell phone and don’t get him, that’s what you get, Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way.’ “If I can be doing things he did, certainly we haven’t done what he did in postseason, but to mention my name with his is impressive.”

The fourth consecutive win also improved the Owls’ stock as they try to make their case for inclusion in the NCAA Tournament.

“We’ve taken steps forward, we have some big road wins,” said O’Brien. “We’re putting ourselves in good position, and we have to continue .putting ourselves in good position.”