Temple's Lavoy Allen has memorable day as Owls beat La Salle, 90-82

Lavoy Allen sure had a memorable senior day.

Accompanied by his father, David, and sister, Nashema, the Temple senior received a framed No. 24 jersey before the start of his final game at the Liacouras Center. Moments later, the power forward returned to center court to receive a commemorative game ball from Temple hall of famer John Baum for being the Owls' career rebound leader. It was a record that Baum held for 42 seasons until Allen broke it on Feb. 20.

But Allen's performance in Saturday's 90-82 Atlantic Ten and Big Five victory over La Salle will arguably be the most memorable part of the day.

The four-year starter had a career-high 24 points to go with 11 rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and an assist in the regular-season finale for both teams. It was Allen's fifth consecutive double-double performance and 12th of the season.

"I tried not to worry about that during the game," he said of the special day. "But after the game, it started to hit me. It's been a good time playing here at the Liacouras Center. Being it was my last game, it was a little sad.

"I'm just happy we came out with the win my last game here."

The Owls (24-6, 14-2 A-10) earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the A-10 tournament.

The 10th-seeded Explorers (14-17, 6-10), however, must travel to seventh-seeded St. Bonaventure for Tuesday's 5 p.m. first-round game. The winner faces the three-time defending tournament champion Owls in Friday's 6:30 p.m. quarterfinal at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Temple has won the last four in the series.

Saturday's victory marked the Owls' 22d straight home win, tying the home winning streak record they set from Feb. 8, 1998 through Dec. 14, 2000. Temple also posted a Liacouras Center record 14 home victories in this season.

As the teams played through 22 lead changes and six ties, the Explorers looked capable of pulling off the upset.

La Salle even pulled within four points (84-80) on Jerrell Williams' layup with 2 minutes, 16 seconds remaining. But just as the Owls did all the times before, they halted an Explorers rally with a clutch basket. This time, a three-pointer by Temple point guard Juan Fernandez 26 seconds later turned a slim lead into a seven-point cushion.

La Salle, which shot 55.4 percent, didn't get any closer than five points the rest of the way.

"It's like cracking a rock," Explorers coach John Giannini said. "You keep pounding, pounding, pounding. And finally we cracked before they did. You know that's a credit to their toughness."

Temple played without Scootie Randall (right foot injury) for the fifth consecutive game. His status for the A-10 tourney is unknown. The junior swingman went into Saturday's game as the team's second leading scorer, averaging 11.6 per game.

Notable. In addition to Allen, Temple honored power forward Dutch Gaitley, a graduate student, and senior managers Anthony DiLoreto, Megan Kita, Tyler Laurie, Sean Phelan, and Jessica Gray before their final home game. . . . The Owls' 90 points were the most they scored since a 90-85 victory over La Salle on March 8, 2008. . . . Temple inducted its 1969 NIT championship team into the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame in a ceremony held at the arena's Fox-Gittis room before the game. The team was introduced at halftime.