The Temple men’s basketball team took a step in the right direction with a 72-55 victory over Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon at aging Anderson Arena in Bowling Green, Ohio.
For the first time this season, the Owls outscored their opponents in the second half. At times they looked unstoppable, cutting and moving the ball to create layups and open three-point shots. They converted 15 of 22 field goal attempts in the second half.
Defensively, the Owls (2-3) never let the home team get comfortable, switching between man-to-man and a zone defense. The Falcons (3-2) hit just 2 of 18 three-point attempts and missed their fair share of layups, too, thanks to the inside presence of freshman forward Lavoy Allen.
Not only did Allen contribute 10 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, but he also limited Bowling Green’s top scorer, 6-7 forward Chris Knight, to two points. Coming in, Knight was averaging 17.5 points per game.
Keeping Allen out of foul trouble was key to Temple’s victory, as was a very strong performance from senior guard Mark Tyndale, who totaled 19 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
Among many early-season trends, here’s a big one: During the team’s 0-3 start, Tyndale totaled three assists and 14 turnovers. In the last two wins, he has nine assists and seven turnovers.
Against Bowling Green, senior guard Dionte Christmas scored a team-high 20 points. Early in the second half, he grabbed a long offensive rebound and nailed a three-pointer to give the Owls a 34-33 lead. Later, he converted a four-point play during a 20-6 run that put the Owls in control of the game.
Of course, the Owls seemed to have control of all three games in last week’s Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic – only to lose control in the second half.
Against Bowling Green there was a small blip – four consecutive turnovers after taking a 60-43 lead with eight minutes to go – but solid defense limited the Falcons to four points during Temple’s three-minute scoreless drought.
While his numbers were rather ordinary, sophomore guard Luis Guzman (26 minutes, 4 points, 4 assists) was clearly a positive influence in his first start at point guard. Chris Clark came off the bench and sank 3 of 5 three-point attempts. Guzman played the first nine minutes of the second half, then Clark handled the point until the final minute.
Former starter Semaj Inge even helped in a two-minute stint in the first half, getting a steal and making a nice pass to Allen for a 17-foot jumper.
Bowling Green was picked to finish near the bottom of the MAC this season. Then they pulled off a surprising victory at Cincinnati two weeks ago. So they aren’t a pushover, especially at home.
More than two weeks into the 2007-08 campaign, the Owls are now just a few days away from their home opener (Thursday vs. Ohio). But before they head home, the Owls have one more game to play in Ohio, against defending MAC regular season champ Akron on Monday night.
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