Owls Beat Hawks ... Yawn

It was a Palestra thriller. A Big 5 classic. Or, as Saint Joseph’s Coach Phil Martelli might put it, a real yawner.

Mark Tyndale capped a furious second half rally with a driving layup with 21 seconds to go to give Temple its one and only lead in a 57-56 victory over St. Joe’s on Sunday night.

After the Hawks missed three shots in the last five seconds, and the Temple student section stormed the floor, the Owls were left standing alone in second place in the Atlantic 10.

Victory seemed impossible when Coach Fran Dunphy’s squad was trailing, 52-40, with eight minutes remaining. Late in the first half, the Hawks had established a double-digit lead, and though the Owls made a few runs, they never seemed close to seizing control.

Then, out of nowhere, the lid closed on the St. Joe’s basket.

With a chance to push their lead to 15 points, the Hawks missed three three-pointers on a single possession, which lasted nearly a minute. Lavoy Allen hit a jumper and drilled two free throws to cut the lead into single figures.

The Owls put on a fullcourt press and immediately forced a turnover, which Tyndale converted into a layup. St. Joe’s forward Pat Calathes then missed a driving shot attempt, and Chris Clark nailed a three-pointer to make it 52-49.

After another SJU miss, Tyndale grabbed the rebound and pushed ahead for a spectacular dunk. In less than three minutes, the Owls had put together an 11-0 run and were within one.

The Hawks regained their composure in the last four minutes. But at that point, the Owls weren’t going to be denied.

Following a pair of Calathes free throws, Sergio Olmos hit a hook shot in the lane. He was fouled on the play, but failed to hit the free throw and the Owls still trailed by one.

Over the next two minutes, it was Temple that appeared to lose its composure.

Tyndale stole the ball, but Ryan Brooks hesitated on a pull-up jumper and his shot was blocked by St. Joe’s center Ahmad Nivins. After another Hawk turnover, Brooks dribbled wildly into the frontcourt and lost the ball. Then, after Olmos blocked a Calathes shot attempt, Temple guard Dionte Christmas badly missed a wide-open three-point look.

As the clock ticked inside two minutes, Calathes snapped an eight-minute field goal drought for the Hawks with a short jumper that trickled over the rim. Tyndale answered with a driving one-hander.

And so it came down to the last minute of play, just like it did in Temple’s 68-67 loss to St. Joe’s in January.

Once again, the ball went to Calathes, who missed an 18-foot baseline jumper. The Owls called timeout, and, as always, the ball landed in Tyndale’s hands.

Defended by Garrett Williamson, the Owl all-star scored with shocking ease, driving down the right side of the lane for a barely-contested layup.

Of course, with 21 seconds to go, it wasn’t over. And, in this case, it really wasn’t over until it was over.

In the final sequence, Calathes missed a driving jumper, Tasheed Carr missed a baseline jumper, and Rob Ferguson missed a putback before Brooks grabbed the rebound to secure Temple’s second win over St. Joe’s in its last 14 tries.

The Owls are now 16-12, 9-5 in A-10 play. The Hawks are 17-10, 8-6 in the A-10.

Dunphy/Tyndale/Inge: Listen to Audio

Chris Clark: Listen to Audio

Lavoy Allen: Listen to Audio

Dionte Christmas: Listen to Audio

Phil Martelli: Listen to Audio

Harvey Levine's Temple-Saint Joe Gallery