Owls Spot On In Victory Over Leopards

Senior guard Dionte Christmas scored 29 points as Temple overcame a sluggish start and pulled away to score a 71-55 victory over Lafayette at the Kirby Sports Center on Friday night.

EASTON, Pa. – After three free-wheeling games in its season-opening trip to Charleston, Temple got a little taste of classic East Coast basketball on Friday night's visit to Lafayette.

Halfcourt sets, an extra bump here and there, and some smart cuts to the basket by the home team.

It took the Owls awhile to adjust to the tempo, not to mention the environs of the smallish Kirby Sports Center, but they eventually found their rhythm and dominated the second half in a 71-55 victory over the Leopards.

“I thought Lafayette did a good job of controlling the game at the beginning,” Temple guard Dionte Christmas said afterward. “We were finally able to start getting up and down the floor towards the end of the first half. That’s what we like to do.”

Not surprisingly, the Owls took control when Christmas got hot. The 6-5 senior hit a 17-footer and a pair of three-pointers in the last two minutes of the first half, giving his team a 40-32 lead at the break.

Christmas stayed hot in the second half, hitting 7 of 11 shots as Temple built a 26-point lead and coasted to the finish. Christmas totaled a season-high 29 points.

At the end, it was hard to remember that it wasn’t easy at the start.

“We go over a list of things that we want to do offensively before every game,” Coach Fran Dunphy said. “The first thing on the list tonight was to get the ball inside to Lavoy Allen (6 points). And I don’t think we did a good with that.”

In each of their three games in Charleston, the Owls (3-1) faced some fullcourt pressure, with mixed success. But, for awhile, the methodical pace against Lafayette (2-1) proved to be more troublesome. The Owls missed 15 of 20 shots and committed seven turnovers in the first 12 minutes of the contest.

“That’s been our M.O.,” Dunphy said. “We do that way too much.”

Throughout the first half, Dunphy shuttled guys in and out of the game, looking for the right combination. Freshman forward Scootie Randall offered a nice boost with seven points and three rebounds.

With starting center Sergio Olmos sidelined once again with an ankle injury, Dunphy chose to stick mostly with a four-guard lineup.

“Without Serge, I think we’re just a better basketball team when we go with four guards,” Dunphy said. “Until we get (freshman center) Michael Eric some more minutes and he learns what it’s like at this level, it’s hard to play he and Lavoy together.”

Jeff Kari led Lafayette with 16 points.

Dunphy/Christmas Postgame: Listen to Audio