Clutch Shooters

Chris Clark and Ryan Brooks hit clutch three-pointers as the Temple men’s basketball team picked up a critical Atlantic 10 victory on Sunday, beating UMass, 80-70, in a thrilling overtime affair at The Liacouras Center.

Mark Tyndale and Lavoy Allen both scored 20 points as the Owls moved back into a tie for fourth place in the topsy-turvy A-10 standings.

The uptempo contest figured to be a duel between the league’s top two scorers, Temple’s Dionte Christmas and UMass forward Gary Forbes. But Christmas shot poorly in the first half and missed almost eight minutes in the second half with foul trouble. He finished with 16 points.

Meanwhile, Forbes was hounded by Tyndale, occasionally by Brooks, and hit just 5 of 19 field goal attempts, finishing with 12 points. He still filled the stat sheet with 12 rebounds and seven assists, but also committed six turnovers.

In an incredibly tight contest, the teams were never separated by more than three points in the last eight minutes of regulation. But the Owls seemed to be in trouble at the end.

Christmas shot an airball, then Forbes hit a three-pointer to give the Minutemen a 64-61 lead with 3:18 to go. Over the next two minutes, Clark missed a three, Tyndale missed a driving layup, and Clark lost the ball on the baseline for a turnover.

But UMass was unable to take advantage of several scoring chances, missing two long jumpers and two putback attempts. Tyndale had a key blocked shot in that sequence.

After a Forbes miss, Christmas made an 80-foot pass to Tyndale, who made an athletic catch on the baseline and zipped the ball to Clark in the corner. He nailed the game-tying three-pointer with 1:12 remaining.

Clark had set a career-high in scoring in Temple’s three previous games. But he was scoreless in this one, 0 for 5 from the field, before drilling the big shot.

In the last minute of regulation, UMass forward Etienne Brower (21 points) shot an airball from three-point range and Tyndale missed a driving layup.

In overtime, Brooks was the hero, following the same kind of script as Clark. The sophomore guard has been in a terrible slump lately, hitting 6 of 22 shots in Temple’s three previous games. His performance in the first 40 minutes against UMass (shooting 1 for 6 from the field) was no better.

But in extra time, with the score tied at 68-68, Brooks caught a pass from Tyndale on the left wing and buried a three-pointer. Then Tyndale took over, particularly on defense. He thwarted a fastbreak with a spectacular steal, and two possessions later, he took a charge from Forbes.

The Owls converted 9 of 10 free throws in the last two minutes to seal their second victory over one of the league’s NCAA Tournament contenders. Earlier this season, they beat Xavier – something that nobody else in the A-10 has accomplished. Next up, the Owls get a chance at another big A-10 scalp when Rhode Island visits The Liacouras Center on Wednesday night.

The Owls are now 12-10, 5-3 in the A-10, which puts them in a fourth place tie with Charlotte. UMass dropped to 15-8, 4-5 in the A-10.

Besides scoring a career-high 20 points, Allen had eight rebounds and three assists. Frontcourt mate Sergio Olmos contributed 10 points, but saw limited action in the second half as both teams went with one big man. Christmas led the Owls with nine rebounds.

UMass guards Ricky Harris (14 points) and Chris Lowe (11 points) were somewhat productive, but missed on some good scoring chances. Harris went 2 for 10 from three-point range and Lowe couldn’t finish a couple drives to the basket. The Minutemen got very little production from their bench, or from starting center Dante Milligan (3 points, 3 rebounds), who was thoroughly outplayed by Allen and Olmos.

Temple finished 22 of 24 from the free throw line.