Christmas Presence

Dionte Christmas scored 20 points and made the big defensive play in overtime as Temple earned a 54-53 victory at Saint Louis on Sunday. As always, OwlsDaily.com was there to provide the only Philly-based coverage of the huge road victory.

Dionte Christmas scored 20 points and made the big defensive play in the final seconds as Temple earned a 54-53 overtime victory at Saint Louis on Sunday afternoon. The Owls improved to 8-8, including a 2-1 mark in Atlantic 10 play.

Appropriately, the Owls secured their second straight win with a series of defensive stops. Coach Fran Dunphy’s squad has gotten much better on defense recently.

After scoring the first five points in overtime (on a pair of free throws by Lavoy Allen and a three-pointer by Chris Clark), the Owls gave up a pair of Saint Louis free throws. On its next possession, SLU guard Tommie Liddell’s driving jumper was blocked by Allen.

The Billikens added two more free throws, and got the ball back after a Temple miss. But Liddell’s 18-foot jumper was blocked by Tyndale.

Of course, it wasn’t just the Owls who were playing terrific defense in overtime. Saint Louis got one last chance to win the game after forcing a fourth consecutive Temple miss.

Inside the final 10 seconds, Liddell drove into the paint, where his path was blocked by Tyndale. So he dished the ball to backcourt mate Kevin Lisch on the right wing. Lisch looked to make a move on Christmas, who tipped the ball away with five seconds to go.

As he chased down the loose ball, Lisch slid across the midcourt line, giving possession back to the Owls with less than a second to go.

Temple gained the second A-10 road victory of Dunphy’s short tenure. Last year the Owls won at Richmond. This one was just as notable for the way they did it.

Though Rick Majerus has taken charge in Saint Louis, his team still looks and plays like they did under Brad Soderberg, a Dick Bennett disciple. That means solid defense, and sometimes a poor showing on offense.

Both teams played with patience on Sunday, which sometimes led to shot clock-induced misses. In fact, the Owls found it nearly impossible to score in transition. SLU never lost its floor balance. The Owls had to earn everything they got.

Temple was scoreless for the first five minutes of the contest. But SLU scored just four points in that span. The Owls later went on an 11-0 run, holding the Billikens scoreless for nearly seven minutes as they turned a 10-5 deficit into a 16-10 lead.

Leading 18-12, Temple lost its floor balance on four straight possessions and surrendered four fastbreak layups to the Billikens. Saint Louis had a 20-18 lead at the half.

Christmas dominated the second half offensively. Whenever the Owls needed a shot, he hit it. On the other end of the floor, Lisch and Liddell combined to match Temple’s output. Lisch in particular hit a couple big three-pointers.

Leading by three in the last two minutes, Temple missed three shots. SLU tied the score on a three-pointer by Luke Meyer. The Owls then regained the lead on Tyndale’s driving bank shot. But Lisch matched him with a 12-foot jumper to tie the score at 49-49.

Tyndale missed another bank shot and Liddell missed a halfcourt heave as time expired, forcing overtime.

Coach Fran Dunphy Postgame Comments: Listen to Audio

Mark Tyndale Postgame Comments: Listen to Audio

Dionte Christmas Postgame Comments: Listen to Audio

Chris Clark Postgame Comments: Listen to Audio