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No. 22 Temple did nothing to hurt their case for tournament play with an 80-79 overtime win against La Salle.
Philadelphia will have its attention on Tom Gola Arena, where the No. 22 Temple Owls will meet the La Salle Explorers in an all-important Big Five tilt.
Temple (21-5, 10-2) is one of the hottest teams in the nation. The Owls have won 10 straight and in doing so vaulted themselves into the Atlantic 10 penthouse. The first game of this run was actually a 76-70 victory over these same Explorers.
Temple is led by Ramone Moore and Khalif Wyatt, who combined are averaging just over 35 points per contest. These two guards have been instrumental throughout the season.
On the other side of things, La Salle (18-9, 7-5) just wants to keep on the right track. The Explorers beat UMass 72-71on Saturday after previously losing three consecutive games. Depending on the St. Joe's result tonight, a win could push La Salle into a tie for third in the conference.
Earl Pettis and Ramon Galloway are the two stars that shine brightest for the Explorers. They will both need to step up in order to beat a newly-ranked Owls squad.
Being a hometown kid, one would imagine that Pettis is jacked up for this game, more than most.
The Owls will look to improve their March Madness stock tonight, while La Salle aims to turn a few heads.
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Radio: 1210 AM WPHT
TV: None
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Temple Vs. La Salle: Owls Keep Flying With 80-79 Overtime Win
Calling the Temple Owls invincible right now would be pure hyperbole, but the Owls are doing something right lately. On Wednesday, they squeaked by La Salle for an 80-79 overtime win, their 11th straight victory. Not a bad way to propel a potential move to the Big East.
Khalif Wyatt led the Owls with 25 points on the night. Wyatt went on an 8-0 run with less than 10 minutes to play in regulation to pace Temple. Wyatt added two free throws to help the Owls in a 9-point overtime.
Ramone Moore led the way in the extra frame. His three-point jumped gave Temple their first points in overtime and tied the game at 74-74. Less than a minute later, he added another two off a Michael Eric offensive rebound. From there, the Owls hung on for the win.
Moore and Eric both finished the game with 18 points apiece. Eric had 12 rebounds and Moore had nine.
A top-25 team, Temple leads Saint Louis University by one game in the Atlantic 10 standings. They take on St. Joe’s this Saturday.
For more Temple coverage, be sure to visit our team page. For complete college basketball and tournament coverage, check out SB Nation’s NCAA hub.
Feb 22 9:40p by Ryan Van Bibber