Temple University Athletics
Temple University
Georgetown
Owls Fall At #19/20 Georgetown, 46-45
11.17.09 | Men's Basketball
Missed free throws costly in upset bid
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WASHINGTON, DC - Georgetown center Greg Monroe made a layup with 6.5 seconds remaining to lift the #19/20 Hoyas to a hard-fought 46-45 win over the Temple Owls in a nationally-televised game Thursday afternoon at the Verizon Center. It marked the first loss for an Owl team when holding an opponent under 50 points since December 20, 1995, snapping a TU streak of 68 consecutive wins when accomplishing the feat.
It was a defensive game from the outset with neither team reaching double-figures until GU's Jason Clark converted two free throws to give the Hoyas a 10-5 lead with exactly 10 minutes remaining in the opening stanza. Georgetown extended the advantage to 16-7 following a jumper by Monroe, one of the nation's top big men, with just under six minutes to play and looked on the verge of taking control of the contest.
Freshman Rahlir Jefferson made a free throw and then added a jumper and Juan Fernandez drained the Owls' first three-pointer of the game, and suddenly it was back to a one-possession game, 16-13. Clark then connected on GU's only trey of the half on the ensuing possession, and the final 2:41 of the period remained scoreless, giving the Hoyas a 19-13 lead at the break.
The Hoyas opened up their largest margin, 27-15, three minutes into the second half as Chris Wright, who had a game-high 15 points, capped an 8-2 run with a three-pointer.
The Owls then went on a 19-4 run, spearheaded by junior forward Lavoy Allen, who had eight of his team-high 12 points during the streth, including two power dunks, to take a 34-31 lead with 10:37 remaining. Allen, who pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds, was even more solid on the defensive end, limiting Monroe to 11 points and nine rebounds.
Temple would extend the margin to six, 39-33, on a trey by Ryan Brooks with just under seven minutes on the clock. It would be the only three-pointer by the Owl co-captain, who struggled to a 2-of-14 night, including 1-of-9 from long-range.
Two traditional three-pointers by Monroe, sandwiched a Clark trey to give the Hoyas a 42-39 lead with five minutes remaining.
With the crowd of 8,712 in a frenzied state, junior forward Craig Williams, questionable for the game due to a sprained right knee, nailed a three-pointer to tie the score. Allen then stole the ballrom Monroe and on the other end made a put-back on a Williams miss to regain the lead for the Cherry and White, 44-42.
Fouled on the play, Allen missed the ensuing free throw, which would prove to be the achilles heel for the visitors.
After consecutive empty possessions, Allen recorded his second steal of the night, and was fouled on the play. He, however, missed the front-end of a one-and-one.
After a Hoya miss, Jefferson was fouled going to the basket. The freshman missed the first, but connected on the second to make it 45-42 with 2:21 on the clock.
Two free throws by Wright cut the margin to one, 45-44, The teams then swapped turnovers before the Owls missed two treys, one by Brooks and one by Williams. Wright then missed from long-range with the long rebound finding its way to Ramone Moore heading down court. The sophomore guard pulled up with 23.7 seconds to play and was fouled.
With a chance to push the lead further, Moore missed from the line, the Owls' fourth missed free throw over the final four-and-a-half minutes.
Following a timeout, Georgetown got the ball down low to Moore, where he spun in a lay-up to give the Hoyas the lead.
Temple inbounded the ball to Luis Guzman, who sped down the floor and into traffic. He went up for a lay-up and was met by two Hoya defenders, who trapped the ball in his hands, forcing a jump. The ball reverted back to GU. Monroe was fouled with 0.3 seconds and missed both shots to end the game.
Guzman, who played a solid floor game, dished a game-high six assists against just two turnovers while playing a career-high-tying 36 minutes.
The Owls shot just 32.1 percent from the field and a meager 13 percent (3-23) from three-point range. The Hoyas did not fare much better, hitting just 35.7 percent and 16.7 percent (3-18) from behind the arc.
Temple (1-1) will next host Siena, currently #26/27 in the polls, at the Liacouras Center Saturday night (7:00 p.m.) in its home opener. The game, which will be available via free audio stream and pay-per-view videostream on OwlAccess, is part of a Super Saturday Temple Athletics promotion. Fans that show a Temple-Kent State Football ticket from the Owls final home game Saturday (1:00 p.m.) at the Liacouras Center Box Office that night can get a basketball lower level baseline ticket for only $10 (while inventory is available). Additionally, fans that show a Temple-Siena Men's Basketball ticket at the Temple-Kent State football game will receive End Zone Seats for $10 per ticket. Offer good at the Lincoln Financial Field Box Office only.
