Saturday, March 12, 2011Posted: 6:01 p.m.Updated: 7:22 p.m.
By Dave ZeitlinCSNPhilly.com
BOX SCORE
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Temples Boardwalk Empire has crumbled.
Kevin Anderson and Justin Harper were the ones who tore it down.
Fueled by huge games from two of the conferences best players, Richmond held off second-seeded Temple, 58-54, in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament Saturday at Boardwalk Hall, ending the Owls reign as three-time tourney champs.
Anderson, a crafty point guard, finished with 22 points, while Harper, a dominating big man, had 18 as Richmond avenged a loss to the Owls in last years A-10 finals.
With the win, the third-seeded Spiders (26-7) advance to Sundays Atlantic 10 championship against ninth-seeded Dayton at 1 p.m.
There were a lot of sad faces in the locker room, said Temple senior forward Lavoy Allen, who through four years had never before lost an A-10 tourney game. I would love to play tomorrow but unfortunately were not playing. So weve just got to put it behind us.
Saturdays semifinal game in front of a large, bipartisan crowd featured 10 lead changes and was filled with tension and drama throughout.
Trailing by six late in the contest, the No. 24 Owls (25-7) went on a 7-0 runon an old-fashioned three-point play from Khalif Wyatt and two transition buckets from Ramone Mooreto take a 54-53 lead with five minutes to go.
But Temple didnt score another point for the rest of the game.
I thought both teams played really great defense, Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said. I thought ours was just a little bit better.
A putback from Harper with 3:45 to go put the Spiders up 55-54, at which point both teams ramped up the defensive intensity. Neither team scored again until Anderson sank two clutch foul shots with 28.5 seconds left.
Richmond guard Cedrick Lindsay (nine points) iced the game by making one more free throw with 14 ticks left on the clock.
On consecutive possessions leading up to that, Temple point guard Juan Fernandez was blocked, Wyatt was stripped trying to draw a foul and Fernandez missed the front end of a one-and-one.
We probably didnt trust in one another quite as much as we have in the past, and we came up a little short, Temple head coach Fran Dunphy said. But Im very proud of what our guys have done throughout the year and certainly the last couple of days as well.
Wyatt led Temple with 15 points off the bench, Allen had another double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Moore had 11 points. The difference may have been the poor play of the typically reliable Fernandez, who had a career-high 10 assists, but shot a dismal 3-for-17 from the field.
He had a couple of tough shots at the basket that Im sure he would change if he could, Dunphy said. But 10 assists is very good and hes a terrific player. And we had opportunities to score a few times but we just couldnt get that done in the last five minutes.
But Ill trust in Juan Fernandez with the ball any time.
Of course, Fernandezs poor shooting numbers can be directly attributed to Richmonds swarming defensive effort.
Fernandez is a great guard, Anderson said. I mean, hes crafty, hes quick, he can make all types of stab shots. He can shoot threes. So we just tried to make it tough on him with whatever shot he took.
Meanwhile, Anderson only had one assist for the Spiders and missed a couple of key shots down the stretch. But the Richmond senior guards composure was invaluable against a Temple squad that knows nothing but success on the boardwalk.
Kevins obviously an extraordinary player, Mooney said. Not only is he incredibly talented but hes very, very poised.I couldnt express to you how much hes meant to our program.
Later in the postgame press conference, Mooney said he believed Saturdays win was enough to get Richmond off the bubble and into the Big Dance.
Dunphy seemed less sure of his teams own NCAA berthbut in reality, he shouldnt have too much to worry about. With 25 wins and a national ranking, the Owls are just about a lock to hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
I couldnt be more proud of everything that we have accomplished and what these kids have done throughout the year, the Temple head coach said. So I hope were ready to go if we can play some basketball next week.
Allen says the Owls will be ready.
Whether were in the NCAA tournament or NIT or CBI, it doesnt matter, said the Temple senior. Were going to go out there and just win.
E-mail Dave Zeitlin at djzeitlin@gmail.com
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