Khalif Wyatt leads Temple alums past ex-La Salle stars at The Basketball Tournament

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Khalif Wyatt drained a three-pointer and waved his arms to the crowd, seconds before Tyreek Duren dribbled the length of the court for a spinning layup at the other end.

No, this wasn’t a Temple-La Salle Big 5 showdown circa 2012 or 2013.

It was some of the city’s biggest former stars reuniting to play in the third annual The Basketball Tournament, a 64-team open tourney for a $2 million grand prize.

And you can score this one for Temple (aka The North Broad Street Bullies), who rode a spirited 25-point performance from Wyatt to a 90-76 victory over La Salle (aka 20th & Olney) in the final game of the first round of TBT’s Northeast Regional on Saturday night at Philadelphia University.

Scootie Randall added 19 points and Ramone Moore and Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson had 14 apiece to remind everyone in attendance just how good those Temple teams from a few years ago were and set up a second-round date with a loaded Syracuse alumni squad.

“I haven’t had this much fun in a while playing basketball,” said Juan Fernandez, who formed one of the best three-man backcourts in Division I with Wyatt and Moore back in 2011-12. “It’s so good to be back. It’s crazy because we all graduated around the same time and to see each other where we are today and to have the opportunity to play together again is a lot of fun. As you grow up, basketball becomes less and less fun and more of a responsibility. But today we were able to enjoy it. That’s what’s fun about this tournament.”

No one seemed to be having more fun than Wyatt, who punctuated his first TBT win with a halfcourt heave that swished through at the buzzer. He also looked as animated as ever, gesticulating to the equally hyped crowd and chatting up his old rivals during breaks in the action.

“As soon as they announced we were playing La Salle, people were texting me and hitting me up on Twitter and Snapchat,” said Wyatt, the 2012-13 Big 5 Player of the Year. “They wanted to see us play against each other. They hadn’t seen it in a long time. To see the crowd into it, it was fun for me. I’m just glad we came out with the win.”

Early on, it looked like La Salle might finally get Temple’s number and set up a rematch with Boeheim’s Army, the team that knocked them out of last year’s TBT. Ramon Galloway — the key player of La Salle’s 2013 Sweet 16 run — joined the fray after missing the 2015 tourney and finished off two alley oops in the first five minutes to help 20th & Olney take an early 13-5 lead. But true to the nature of the Big 5, the North Broad Street Bullies rallied to take the lead thanks to back-to-back threes from Wyatt and some strong drives from Randall.

They then closed the half on an 11-2 run to take a 53-40 halftime advantage, and remained in control of the contest throughout the second half with the kind of disciplined performance that would have made Fran Dunphy proud.

Well, maybe it wasn’t all disciplined. Players from both teams were whistled for technical fouls in a game that was as heated as you might expect.

“It felt like another Big 5 game,” said Duren, noting a few more technicals could have probably been called. “It felt like we were back in school.”

Duren finished with a team-high 16 points for 20th & Olney, while Galloway had 12 and Tyrone Garland 10 in their Sweet 16 reunion (Garland, of course, made the famous “Southwest Philly Floater” to get them there). Two older La Salle alums -- Steven Smith (15 points) and Rodney Green (12 points) -- weren’t part of that magical team but have enjoyed playing alongside the Sweet 16 guys the last couple of years, even if this year’s TBT run ended quicker than they had hoped.

“I feel like it’s a bit more special of an experience to play with former teammates and alums,” Smith said. “And Philadelphia had some some of the best schools and the best basketball, so it’s only right. It’s always gonna be a good show.”

The old Temple teammates now hope to carry the torch for the city and keep the show going beyond this weekend. 

“Five more wins,” Wyatt said, shortly before pointing out it was after 11 p.m. and that it was time to rest up.

Shorthanded SuperNova ousted
For most of its first-round contest against PA RoadWarriors, SuperNova held a comfortable lead. But after Scottie Reynolds was forced out with an arm injury — and several other players on the roster were already missing due to other injuries or commitments — the ’Nova team had to play with only four guys on the court. 

Riding that unlikely man advantage, a PA RoadWarriors squad made up mostly of Bucknell alumnus stormed back for a 89-88 victory in the most exciting game of the day.

Malcolm Grant led SuperNova with 29 points, including a four-point play to tie things up at 84-84 with 1:35 left and then a go-ahead layup in the final minute. But Charles Lee sliced through SuperNova’s four-man defense to put the RoadWarriors back up one and Grant missed a tough three at the buzzer.

Reynolds finished with 19 points for SuperNova before getting hurt, while James Bell had 18 and Corey Fisher and Antonio Pena each had 11. Former Penn star Mark Zoller had five points and four rebounds for the RoadWarriors.

The good news for Villanova fans it that ex-Wildcat guard Maalik Wayns still has his shot at the $2 million, scoring 17 to lead Family Over Everything to a 90-82 win over local-based team Liberty Ballers.

Former St. Joe’s big man C.J. Aiken had 20 points and three blocks in a losing effort and Temple’s Ryan Brooks scored 14.

Sunday schedule
Buckle up for another fun day at Philadelphia University on Sunday. 

With four Super 16 berths on the line, top-seeded City of Gods plays Talladega Knights at 11 a.m., Wayns’ FOE squad plays Team Maryland at 12:45 p.m., and the 11th-seeded PA RoadWarriors looks for another upset vs. The Untouchables at 2:30 p.m.

But those games are all appetizers to the main event of the North Broad Street Bullies clashing with second-seeded Boeheim’s Army at 4:15 p.m.

For Wyatt, it’s something of a rematch of the 2012-13 game when he scored 33 points to lead Temple to an upset of third-seeded Syracuse at Madison Square Garden. 

“I’m 1-0 against Syracuse,” Wyatt said. “I would like it to be 2-0.”

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