Jan. 24, 2008

PHILADELPHIA- Another slow start doomed the Quakers as Temple used a long distance assault to get up on Penn (5-12, 0-4 in Big 5) early. Right out of the gate, the Owls went on a 12-0 run on four three-pointers to take an early lead on the visiting team. That lead proved to be insurmountable for the often offensively challenged Penn team as they lost, 80-64, at the Liacouras Center.

Big 5 Player of the Week Dionte Christmas came out firing as he scored six of the team's first twelve points of the game, on two 3-pointers. That along with 3's by Louis Guzman and Mark Tyndale allowed the Owls to hop all over the Quakers. The Temple defense was strong in the first half, turning the Red and Blue over eight times and holding them to 32% shooting. The stingy defense allowed the Owls to quicken the pace of the game and take advantage of their athleticism. Sophomore Ryan Brooks came off the bench to provide an additional spark for the Owls as he scored 10 points before the break. A good indication of how efficient the Owls offense was is their 12 assists on 14 first half field goals.

One of the lone bright spots in the first half for Penn was sophomore Andreas Schreiber. The native of Sweden was the only Penn player to score more than six points in the period with nine on 4-of-5 shooting. At one point, Andreas scored seven consecutive points for the Quakers on three baskets in the paint, one of which was accompanied by a foul and made free throw. Despite his efforts, Penn headed into the locker room down 41-22.

The second half was more competitive and had runs for both teams. Freshmen Tyler Bernardini and Jack Eggleston found their groove and were instrumental in Penn closing the gap in the second half. Two Eggleston free throw's cut the margin to ten points with 4:45 remaining but that was the closest the Quakers would get. Christmas and Tyndale scored the next six Temple points to put the game out of reach, as Temple was victorious 80-64.

Forward Tyler Bernardini led Penn in scoring with 16 points and added four assists and two rebounds. Schreiber and Eggleston tied for team-high in rebounds with six, and combined for 27 points. Freshman guard Harrison Gaines returned from a hamstring injury to put up 7 points in ten minutes of action.

No surprises for the Cherry and White as Dionte led the Owls with 24 points and Tyndale was not far behind with 18. Tyndale had another impressive all-around game finishing seven rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block. Freshman Lavoy Allen had a team-high nine rebounds to go along with 8 points.

Coach Dunphy faced his former school, where he spent seventeen years, for only the second time. Last year, the two teams played at The Palestra with Penn coming out on top 76-74. Temple (9-8, 1-1 in Big 5) will play Saint Joseph's next on Saturday. Penn will take on Harvard after a eight-day layoff.