Temple vs. Penn, Live Game Updates (1/14)

Hey all, Matt Flegenheimer here at the Palestra for tonight's Big 5 action between Penn and Temple. Longtime Quakers coach Fran Dunphy returns to his old stomping grounds for the second time since leaving the Red and Blue's bench in 2006. Keep it with the Buzz all night for live updates from behind the Owls' bench.

Temple 78 Penn 53, Final

Votel hits another short one. Superbly-named Scootie Randall of Temple splits a pair of freebies. Eggleston hits two of his own. Fernandez finishes in transition. Belcore drills a three, and the Owls dribble it out to complete the rout.

Temple 73 Penn 45, 4:05 Second Half

Apparently, a lead this size isn't enough to make Dunphy comfortable. After a travel by Inge, Dunphy, red in the face, screams violently, smacking his fist on the scorer's table. The Palestra crowd shares a collective chuckle.

Temple 70 Penn 43, 6:41 Second Half

Votel hits a deep two with the shot clock winding down, then a short turnaround from the right block. Luis Guzman gets straight to the rim on a baseline drive, followed by a Belcore triple. Owls freshman Michael Eric nets an elbow jumper, and Glen Miller wants to talk things over.

Temple 65 Penn 32, 10:33 Second Half

Bernardini hits a pull-up, followed, predictably, by another Christmas three. That's 25 points for the senior already on 9-for-13 shooting and 5-for-5 from three. The team is 12-for-18 from downtown overall, and it's not as if they're getting open looks every time down. Hard to stop that.

Temple 58 Penn 31, 13:03 Second Half

Another trey for Christmas. Lewis hits a pair of free throws, but also provides the game's most memorable play to date, an open-court debacle on a dunk attempt. Williams tallies another three at the other end, then Christmas sticks another. This is getting ugly.

Temple 49 Penn 29, 15:57 Second Half

Inge finishes on a nice dribble drive, Williams knocks down another three off a Penn turnover, and Bernardini finally gets on the board with a one-handed circus shot. Rosen's second three of the game cuts the lead back to 18, until Christmas goes glass on a pretty drive.

Temple 42 Penn 24, Halftime

Christmas and Rosen each convert a pair from the line, Christmas gets out in transition for a lefty lay-in, WIlliams puts in another two, and the half ends with a Mike Howlett clank on a deep three.

Halftime stats:

Penn

Gaines: 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist

Bernardini: 0 points (0-5 FG)

Temple

Christmas: 14 points (5-8 FG), 7 rebounds

Williams: 11 points (3-7 3PT), 3 rebounds

Temple 36 Penn 22, 3:26 First Half

Owls seven-footer Sergio Olmos splits a pair of free throws after being hacked by Cam Lewis, Gaines finally misses one from downtown, then Olmos rocks the rim with a one-handed throwdown off a dish from freshman Juan Fernandez. Bernardini hits Eggleston on a nice backdoor cut, Williams drills another three, and freshman Rob Belcore hits one of his own. Olmos tracks down his own rebound off a missed hook for two more.

Temple 28 Penn 17, 7:51 First Half

Gaines goes coast-to-coast off a defensive board, draws the foul, and converts both. Christmas nails a cold-blooded three put the Owls up 11 and end the Quakers' run. Temple's stellar senior already has 10 points and six boards. Gaines leads the Quakers with eight points.

Temple 25 Penn 15, 10:01 First Half

Brooks converts another trifecta, and Votel answers with a lay-in off a feed from recently-inserted Harrison Gaines, who sticks a three of his own on the next possession. And the following possession. All the sudden it's a 10-point game, leaving Dunphy grabbing angrily at his bottle of Aquafina.

Temple 22 Penn 7, 12:45 First Half

Temple standout Dionte Christmas gets things started with a quick deuce. Lavoy Allen rejects a Zack Rosen drive at the other end, then converts on a baby hook over Brennan Votel. A Craig Williams three makes it 7-0 two possessions later. Rosen finally gets the home squad on the board three and a half minutes in with a three from the top of the key. Allen throws down a slam on a backdoor cut. Semaj Inge hits Christmas on a no-look bounce pass for an easy two. Jack Eggleston knocks down an 18-footer from the corner. Allen, standing at six-foot-11, pours in another two over Penn's bigs. Christmas drills a three to give Temple its first double-digit lead, which quickly balloons to 14 on another Williams trey. Rob Belacore and Ryan Brooks trade triples to make it 22-7. Unbelievable long-distance shooting from the Owls so far.