Christmas, Clark Lift Temple to 84-75 Win Over La Salle :: Temple advances to A-10 Semifinals Friday

March 13, 2008

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - Senior Chris Clark may be smallest player on court for the Temple Owls, but he is the biggest reason that the Cherry and White are advancing to semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship. Clark scored six crucial points in the final 90 seconds to help the Owls withstand a furious second half rally and defeat city rival La Salle, 84-75, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. With the victory, the Owls advance to the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship tomorrow evening at 9 p.m. against the winner of UMass and Charlotte.

With the game tied at 75 and under two minutes to play, La Salle's Darnell Harris missed a wide open three-pointer and appeared to be on his way to picking up the offensive rebound. But Clark snuck in and nabbed the board, getting fouled in the process. Clark nailed two free throws to give the Cherry and White a 77-75 lead with 1:35 remaining. Following a La Salle turnover, Clark sealed the game for Owls, hitting a three pointer with 50 seconds left that seemed to touch every portion of the rim before following through the net. Clark would add one more free throw and Owls prevailed 84-75.

"We feel fortunate to have won have the game, but we survived and that's what you need to do at this time of year," said head coach Fran Dunphy. "Chris's shot was as much of a sign of good fortune as anything."

Temple's one-two punch of junior Dionte Christmas and senior Mark Tyndale wasted no time getting adjusted to postseason play, as the duo both scored in double figures for the 26th time this season. Christmas, recently named first team All-Atlantic 10, scored 29 points to lead all scorers. Tyndale, named to the Atlantic 10 second team, scored 14 points added 10 rebounds and six assists. Junior Sergio Olmos played a pivotal role in the win, scoring 14 points and pulling down three rebounds. Clark also added 12 critical points, all in the second half.

Early in the second half, the Owls appeared as if they we going to pull away from the Explorers just as they did when the teams matched up last Saturday. Olmos scored six quick points to start the second half, building the Cherry and White's lead to 53-39 just four minutes into the second half. But right after Olmos scored his third bucket, he picked up two quick fouls and was forced to the bench with four fouls at the 14:53 mark.

With Olmos on the bench, the Explorers used a three-point barrage to get right back into the game. La Salle went on a 17-3 run with Olmos, taking its first lead of the game when Rodney Green connected on a three to give La Salle a 62-61 lead with 9:01 to play. The lead would bounce back and forth for the final nine minutes before Clark answered at the end.

"We did a good job of just pulling everything together to win this game," said Christmas.

Green led the way for La Salle with a team-high 20 points. Harris added 18 points and Yves Mekongo Mbala scored 16 in defeat.

Before a very large contingent of Temple fans making the trip to Atlantic City, the Owls came out of the gate looking like a team on a mission. The Owls built a 9-0 lead in the early going to take command of the game. Christmas and Tyndale were both sharp from the outset, accounting for 30 of the Owls' 43 first half points. After leading the entire first half, the Owls took a 43-35 lead heading into the locker room.

The Owls, winners of five straight for the first time since February 2004, are back in action tomorrow night at 9 p.m. as they continue their late season push to the NCAA Tournament when they face the winner of the UMass/Charlotte in A-10 semifinals from Atlantic City.

Note: Longtime Temple SID Al Shrier was honored during the second half of the game with the Bob Vetrone Media Award. Shrier has been at Temple for 54 years, the longest tenure in the history of CoSIDA.