So while St. Joe's is playing its home games on Penn's home court this season as the Fieldhouse gets renovated, playing at the Palestra is far from a home court advantage for the Hawks … especially when the guy opposite of Phil Martelli called the place home for 17 years. Well, last night, Dunph reminded everyone that no matter what colors he's sporting, the Palestra is his house, though it was far from an emphatic win.
If you didn't watch the final minute of this game, you might be wondering how Temple didn't win it rather easily. After all, the Owls were up by 10 points with 54 seconds left to play. But then, Lavoy Allen happened.
Now, not only does Lavoy Allen suck at free throws, he's a fucking idiot. I guess that's why he goes he to Temple and not say, Penn. I mean, with the Owls up by double-digits, Allen repeatedly was getting the ball and getting fouled, and he repeatedly kept missing. He went 1-6 from the line. And to top things off, he committed a couple horrendous fouls that stopped the clock and put the Hawks on the line, allowing a 10-point lead with 54 seconds left to become a 2-point game with 4 seconds left and St. Joe's with the ball.
What I'm trying to say is, Lavoy Allen isn't the smartest mix. But here's another question: Why was Allen even in at the end, a 63.5 percent free throw shooter, and more importantly, why did he keep getting the ball? Please, let me know Fran.
But Allen wasn't the only Owl who sucked from the line. In fact, they all sucked. Amazingly, even after leading virtually the entire game, Temple had not shot a free throw the entire game until Allen was fouled with 2:28 left IN THE GAME! That's insane. Either way, they sucked when they got there, making just 7 of 18. That's 39 percent in case you're counting. I—an unathletic, short, white, awful basketball player—could hit more than 7 out of 18 tries blindfolded. Or lefthanded. Shit, you can make more than that by accident.
Oh, and Juan Fernandez, you are no Pepe Sanchez. Seriously, here in America, we try to teach our players to follow through on foul shots, not, you know, pull your hands down immediately and fade away from the line. What a joke. Go back to Argentina you jerk.
But, thankfully Tasheed Carr showed he wasn't too bright himself, launching a halfcourt shot with still 2.5 seconds left. It had no chance of going in, and he could have easily gotten a better shot with the time remaining. Still, Garrett Williamson gave me a scare. He was in position to tip in Carr's miss and tie the game, but he couldn't quite corral it in. Thank goodness, because I would have lost it, especially on Lavoy.
As far as the rest of the game went, Semaj Inge was brilliant for Temple in the first half going 4-5 for 11 points and 3-4 from beyond the arc. The guy has a ridiculously ugly release, but last night, it was effective. However, I don't blame St. Joe's for leaving him open early on. If I saw a guy shoot like that, I wouldn't guard him either.
However, this game was controlled by the big boys. Ahmad Nivins scored a game-high 21 points, but he was kept off the glass and his touches were limited by Temple's defense. And while Ahmad did lead the pack in points, it was Dionte Christmas who controlled the game.
The A-10's leading scoring dropped in 19 points, several of them coming on ridiculously deep contested threes, and notched 11 boards while dishing out 4 assists. It was an impressive display to say the least, and I'm sure gonna miss that guy at Temple next year. Thankfully, he's still here, and he was the spark that ignited the Owls over the A-10 leading Hawks.
Nothing better than a battle at the Palestra.
Oh, and the Flyers had no business losing last night. They were completely dominating and outshooting the Senators but found themselves down 2-0. Then, 3-0 when Niittymaki looked like he had vertigo. Niitty gave up 5 goals on 23 shots, proving once again that if you anoint him as the starter, he will suck, but when he's fighting for playing time, he'll be awesome. I'm getting really tired of that.
Meanwhile, a 23-year-old 9th-round pick is stopping 34 of 36 shots on the other end. Seriously, can the Flyers just once, just once, get a top-tier goaltender? Christ. They should have gotten Luongo years ago when Florida when shopping him, but no. The Flyers had Roman Chechmanek and Brian Boucher and Robert Esche and Sean Burke and ahhhh I want to rip my face off with these God damn goalie controversies! Fuck.
Honestly though, I think Biron should be the starter, no matter what, for how he played last year down the stretch and in the playoffs. And I still think the Flyers will be fine. And I hate the Devils. For real.
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