newjerseynewsroom.com

BY KYLE FRANKO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENT

ATLANTIC CITY — Temple forward Lavoy Allen is not a guy that shows a lot of emotion. But even he couldn't resist holding three fingers up in the air as the Temple student section chanted "This is our house" Sunday afternoon at Boardwalk Hall.

After all, the Owls have made a habit of making Atlantic City their second home.

"I was real excited," a smiling Allen said after Temple won its third straight Atlantic 10 tournament title with a 56-52 victory over Richmond. "Ramon [Moore] came down and made those free throws at the end and I was just real excited and ready to get the game over with."

Yet behind Allen's smile and that of his teammate Juan Fernandez, who sat beside him in the post game press conference, you could tell there was still some unfinished business. The Owls have been down this road before — A-10 tournament champions — but twice failed to get out of the NCAA tournament first round.

"This is really a wonderful team," said sophomore guard Juan Fernandez who scored a game-high 18 points and won the tournament's Most Outstanding Player Award. "We have short goals and we achieved one which is winning this Atlantic 10. Now we really want to play this first round [NCAA] game because it's been two years in a row that Temple couldn't get past that. It's really our job to put Temple in that second round."

If Temple (29-5, 14-2) is going to reach that second round and possibly further, it's going to rely on its defense. The Owls only give up 56.3 points per game ranking them third nationally. They held Richmond's Kevin Anderson, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, to 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

The Owls needed that effort because they went the last 6:32 of regulation without a field goal. Still, they found a way to win. That's what good teams do — good teams that make deep runs in the NCAA tournament.

"This is Temple, one of the best defensive teams in the country," said Richmond (26-8, 13-3) head coach Chris Mooney. "You don't get anything easy."

Would you really expect anything less from a Temple team? Remember head coach Fran Dunphy's predecessor?

"I hope that we're better defensively than we've ever been," said Dunphy, when asked about the difference between this team and last years. "I don't think we're great, but I think we're a very good defensive basketball team. We need to be more fluid on the offensive end, but that's on me. ... I just hope that we're as a balanced basketball team as we can be because right now we're kind of resting on our defensive laurels."

Dunphy's physical man-to-man may be different than John Chaney's quirky matchup-zone, but the results haven't lied — except in the NCAA tournament. That's where Dunphy still needs to make his mark — to put his stamp on the Temple program.

There's no doubt his best chance is with this team.

"We're very excited to be representing the Atlantic 10, in the NCAA tournament, as the champion," Dunphy said. "This has really been a magical year for these kids and I'm just happy to be along for the ride."

Atlantic 10 by the numbers:

9 — The number of times Temple has won the Atlantic 10, the most in the leagues history.

108 — The total number of points scored by Temple and Richmond was the third lowest in the league's history. The fewest amount of points scored was 104 in the 1990 title game between the Owls and Massachusetts.

5 — The number of consecutive Atlantic 10 tournament championships won by UMass from 1992-96 when it was coached by John Calipari. Temple is two away from equaling that mark after winning its third straight.

34-11 — Richmond's record since Feb. 18, 2009. The Spiders watched the NCAA selection show from Boardwalk Hall before returning to Virginia. Head coach Chris Mooney, now in his fifth season, has done an outstanding job and don't be surprised if his name comes up for coaching vacancies in power conferences.

9-1 — Temple head coach Fran Dunphy's record in the Atlantic 10 tournament. Dunphy's .900 winning percentage is the highest all-time for A-10 tournament games. Former Xavier and current Ohio State head coach Thad Matta is second with an .800 winning percentage.

24 — The number of seconds Temple did not lead during the entire tournament. The Owls were tied for those 24 seconds and never trailed in their three games.

14 — The number of Atlantic 10 championship games decided by five points or less.

All-Tournament Team

F — Lavoy Allen, Temple: Didn't have his best game in the championship (just 4 points) but he did grab 11 rebounds. The junior's had double digit rebounds in six consecutive A-10 tourney games dating back to last year.

G — Juan Fernandez, Temple: Was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player and rightfully so. The Argentinean led the Owls in scoring in two of their three games.

G — Jordan Crawford, Xavier: The Musketeer guard is turning into one of the nation's premier backcourt player. After the X-Men knocked off Dayton head coach Chris Mack praised him for his heart and toughness. He averaged 20 points per game in Xavier's two games in AC.

G — Kevin Anderson, Richmond: The Spiders' junior playmaker was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year for a reason. He hit big shots in his 27-point performance that lifted them to the final.

G — Ricky Harris, Massachusetts: The senior had his career come to an end when the Minutemen dropped their quarterfinal matchup to Richmond. UMass was the only team with a losing record to reach Atlantic City and Harris' 19 points helped it nearly shock the Spiders after trailing by 17 in the second half. Harris was one of the league's most prolific scorers during his career and averaged a conference-best 19.8 points per game this season.

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2010 Atlantic 10 Tournament: Day 1 ups and downs

Dayton punched way out of Atlantic 10, NCAA Tournaments

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