GUEST POST FROM TALL
PHIL RE. 2/1/12 GAME
’Twas an average sports night in a world-class sports mecca
as the Owls mashed the Rams 78-60 while Drexel, St. Joe’s, LaSalle and “Your
Sixers” all comfortably dictated, all on the very day that “I Accept All the
Blame” Reid granted “Juan More Time” Castillo a stay of execution. So, get
this, the Sixers at a radiant 16-6 take back seat to the Owls at 16-5.
This a great city or what?
The Owls own the Rams: five straight, 26 of the last 30, a
perfect .750 over recorded history with 39 wins. You wouldn’t have known it
through the first eight minutes of this one, though, as only hot-shooting
Khalif Wyatt kept his stone cold mates in a game they would, when they came to
their senses, last trail by 21-18.
Score at the break: 35-27. Half #1 was Wyatt’s, featuring 16
of his 24. Half #2 belonged to Ramon Moore, who knocked down a career high six
treys and a game high 25, two more than Fordham ace Brian Smith. Rahlir H-J had
10. In the “go figure” department, Temple’s 15 turnovers were three more than
Fordham’s, and their four steals one less. A still-recouping Michael Eric, in a
reserve role yet, blocked five, a career-high tie. And we waited stoically for
T.J. DiLeo to finish passing and start shooting, en route to a hard-earned
three-point night.
So what do we know re. the 2011-2012 Temple Owls? They’re
batting .762 after a season-high five game winning streak. They’re 8-1 at home,
where five of their remaining nine regular season games will spontaneously combust.
They play Fordham yet again, away, in the season clincher. They travel no
further than Kingston, RI, where they play Fri. Only Xavier (15-7 after their
win last night) would appear to loom large. If they stay-play within
themselves, these Owls could run not just (up and down) the floor, but perhaps
the proverbial table.
Non-basketball notes: One, the first 500 Temple students
last eve received RecycleMania t-shirts. Two, hmmmm, y’think there were that
many students there? Three, the attendance was 4,080—if you count the Diamond
Gems and the Dribbling Dunkin' Donut Coffee Cups and the trombonists and the Super
Inflectioned PA Meister, 73 times each. Four, speaking of which, how to ’splain
the infernal rejoinder following every other whistle, “There’s a time out (voice up, up, away) …on the floor (voice, well, on the floor).” Okay, so just
where else do timeouts routinely take place? Five, this group ate first at
McCrossens Tavern on 20th just below Spring Garden, where waiting,
for salads not for Godot, was the core activity, and stars don’t come easily;
and drank last at Jack’s Firehouse, 2130 Fairmount, a fine place to savor
victory and consider the day.
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