Just call Chris Clark the La Salle strangler.
The 5-8 guard bounced in a three-pointer with 52 seconds to go and hit three free throws in the last two minutes to lift the Temple Owls to an 84-75 victory over the Explorers in the Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night in Atlantic City.
After leading for the first 30 minutes, the Owls surrendered two big La Salle runs and found themselves trailing, 75-73, after Explorer guard Darnell Harris drained a three-pointer with 2:15 remaining.
That’s when Temple – and Clark in particular – slammed the door on any thought of an upset.
After Sergio Olmos tied the score with a short bank shot, Harris missed a three-pointer and Clark grabbed a long rebound and was fouled. He sank both free throws to give the Owls the lead. Then, after La Salle forward Yves Mekongo-Mbala was called for traveling, Clark hit the big one.
With less than 10 seconds on the shot clock, the senior point guard stepped into a long three-point attempt, which bounced high and soft off the front of the rim, then kissed the glass and fell through the hoop.
Clark added another free throw and teammates Dionte Christmas and Mark Tyndale capped the game-ending 11-0 run with three more free throws as Temple advanced to the A-10 semifinals on Friday night.
Christmas finished with 29 points, filling the basket in the first half and hitting a couple huge shots in the second half. Tyndale totaled 14 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, though he also committed seven turnovers as he played a little bit loose when the Owls had a big lead.
Five days after flattening La Salle, 85-66, in the regular season finale at Tom Gola Arena, Temple looked just as good in rolling to a 9-0 lead on Thursday night. The Explorers didn’t let the Owls run away and hide, as they did this past weekend, but Coach Fran Dunphy’s squad never seemed threatened.
Leading 43-35 at the break, Temple hit five of its first six shots in the second half. Olmos was especially productive, hitting an 18-foot jumper and scoring three times in the paint. Early in the game, Olmos took an elbow to the face from La Salle freshman Jerrell Williams. He obviously responded well to the physical challenge.
However, the Owls did not respond well when Olmos went to the bench with his fourth foul with almost 15 minutes to go. Shortly thereafter, the Explorers drilled three consecutive three-pointers and completely erased a 59-48 deficit.
With 9:30 remaining, the score was tied at 59-59.
Over the next five minutes, Temple steadied the ship, getting consecutive three-pointers from Clark and Christmas and another one from Ryan Brooks. The Owls had a 73-67 lead with 4:30 to go. But La Salle wouldn’t die.
Three free throws and a Mbala layup cut the deficit to 73-72. Meanwhile, Christmas and Brooks missed long jumpers and Tyndale drove the lane but threw a pass that was stolen. With four fouls at the time, Tyndale couldn’t risk going all the way to the basket, as he had already committed two charging fouls. La Salle knew that, too.
But after Harris gave the Explorers the lead, Clark took it away.
Five days ago, he scored a career-high 22 points in the regular season finale at La Salle. This time, he only needed 12 to maintain his newfound title, the La Salle strangler.
Postgame Press Conference: Listen to Audio
Mark Tyndale: Listen to Audio
Dionte Christmas: Listen to Audio
Sergio Olmos: Listen to Audio
Harvey Levine's Temple-La Salle Gallery
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