Temple Falls to UMass

               Temple suffered a disappointing loss last night to Massachusetts in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament, 79-74.  While the loss comes at a poor time for the Owls, it should not cost them an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, and probably will only change their seeding.
 It was a back and forth contest between the Owls and the Minutemen, with Temple taking a 38-37 lead into halftime.  The second half was more back and forth play, with the game remaining tight, until the final minute when Massachusetts began to pull away.  In the end, Chaz Williams proved to be too much for the Owls, as he scored 28 points in the game.  While the loss comes as a disappointment, and is not exactly at an ideal time, the Owls should not stress as much as teams like La Salle for the next day as they await the selection committee.  With wins over the 3rd and 21st ranked teams on their resume, Temple should still have their tickets punched to the big dance, despite last nights loss.
                The Owls efforts were led by Khalif Wyatt, who had 19 points, albeit on a poor shooting night from the field as he went 4-19, but added to his scoring total with a 9 for 10 night at the charity stripe.  Temple will need much more efficient outings from Wyatt if they hope to make a tournament run.  Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson contributed on all ends for the Owls, as he scored 17 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, with 6 coming on the offensive glass, dished out 7 assists, and accounted for 3 steals in the game.  Hollis-Jefferson had a great game and filled the stat sheets, and will need to continue efforts like this for the Owls in the big dance.  Scootie Randall also contributed 12 points in the Owls effort that came up just short.  Temple now awaits Selection Sunday to learn their fate, but barring a large number of bracket busters from other conference tournaments, should still receive their ticket to the big dance.  Last nights loss was simply a bump in the road for an extremely talented Owl squad that now sits at 23-9 on the season.  Temple needs to regroup and have a short memory, as they polish their dancing shoes in preparation for the big dance.  Don't be shocked if Temple makes a Cinderella run come tournament time, as they have proven they have all the talent to do so.