Temple falls to UMass in A-10 quarterfinals

NEW YORK - Just six days ago, Temple seemed nearly invincible.

Coming off a nationally televised blowout of No. 25 Virginia Commonwealth, which was their seventh straight win, the Owls appeared unstoppable in their quest for an Atlantic Ten tournament title.

It didn't happen.

Temple's seemingly well-oiled machine was wrecked by Massachusetts for the second consecutive season in the A-10 tourney quarterfinals.

This time, the Minutemen prevailed, 79-74, on Friday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. So instead of playing for their fourth tournament title in six seasons, the Owls (23-9) will spend this weekend wondering where they'll be placed in the NCAA tournament on Selection Sunday.

Third-seeded Temple had a first-round bye, while sixth seed UMass (21-10) defeated George Washington in Thursday's quarterfinal round.

The Owls, who will join the conference currently called the Big East in July, had a disappointing end to its A-10 tenure.

For UMass (21-10), this was just its third victory in the last nine meetings against Temple. The Minutemen will meet VCU in Saturday's 4 p.m. semifinal.

"We were a little bit fresher early, but we didn't take advantage of it," said Owls coach Fran Dunphy. "They made shots in the second half, and we came up a little bit short."

Temple guard Khalif Wyatt, the A-10 player of the year, had one of his worst shooting performances. He scored 19 points on 4-for-19 shooting. At one point, he missed 12 consecutive attempts.

"I had some good looks," Wyatt said. "My teammates kept coming to me, saying they had trust in me. The ball just wasn't going in."

While Wyatt struggled, Freddie Riley's three-pointer gave UMass a 71-66 cushion with 1 minute, 32 seconds left. Wyatt hit a three-pointer to pull the Owls within two (73-71) with 55.6 seconds to play. But Terrell Vinson answered with another three-pointer with 33 seconds left.

Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson (17 points) and Scootie Randall (12) were the Owls' other double-digit scorers.

UMass point guard Chaz Williams led all scorers with 28 points. He was 10 for 10 from the foul line.

The first half wasn't exactly one of the Owls' best performances.

Wyatt had nine first-half points, but struggled mightily. He made just 2 of 8 shot attempts. He also committed two costly turnovers.

The Owls were outrebounded by 23-9 in the first half and 35-22 for the game. But Temple led, 38-37, at intermission thanks to 12 UMass turnovers and contributions from Hollis-Jefferson and reserves T.J. DiLeo and Jake O'Brien.