The Defense Rests

Coach Fran Dunphy never planned on going with a four-guard lineup this season. Thus far, injuries have given him few alternatives.

After missing four games with a sprained ankle, Sergio Olmos returned to Temple’s starting lineup on Saturday – just in time to replace Lavoy Allen, who broke his thumb in the Owls’ previous game at Lafayette.

Temple’s four-guard attack couldn’t produce enough offense to offset its spotty defense, and the Owls blew a 12-point second half lead in an 83-73 loss to Buffalo at Alumni Arena.

“If it’s four guards we’re going to play, it’s four guards we’re going to play. That doesn’t mean that guys can’t defend,” Dunphy said afterward. “The perimeter guys gave up dribble penetration far too much. Our defense should not have been as bad as it was today.”

For a long time, it looked like the offense would be enough to carry the Owls (3-2) to their third road victory of the young season. They hit 15 of 20 shots in the first 13 minutes to grab a 34-20 lead.

Even after the Bulls (3-2) made a run, powered by some timely putbacks and a better defensive effort against Temple’s Dionte Christmas, the Owls steadied themselves and went ahead, 56-44, following a Ryan Brooks three-pointer with 13 minutes to go.

At that point in the game, Temple was shooting 62 percent from the field.

“I think when we got a big lead we relaxed a little bit, and those guys didn’t give up,” Christmas said.

Indeed, the Bulls charged ahead with a 14-0 run, as the Owls committed four turnovers on their next five possessions.

Temple was already losing the rebounding battle, as well as the battle with the officials, who whistled the Owls for 10 fouls in the first eight minutes of the second half.

But the real trouble started when the Bulls started hitting shots. In fact, they didn’t miss. After Temple went ahead, 62-60, Buffalo didn’t miss a shot in the last six minutes.

Junior forward Calvin Betts slipped inside for a layup off an inbounds pass to give the Bulls a 64-62 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. Betts finished with a team-high 18 points.

“That was a horrible display of defense in the second half,” Christmas said.

On the other end of the floor, Christmas had 21 points with 15 minutes left in the game. He finished with 25.

“We wanted to have them keep taking long shots, and hopefully grind them down at the end,” said Buffalo coach Reggie Weatherspoon, whose team hosts second-ranked Connecticut later this week.

That’s exactly what happened.

Allen provided a glimmer of hope afterward, saying he might be cleared to play with a wrap around his injured left thumb as early as this week, when the Owls play their home opener against Miami-Ohio.

Dunphy Postgame: Listen to Audio

Allen Postgame: Listen to Audio

Christmas Postgame: Listen to Audio