Christmas in Philadelphia: Temple drops Vols, 88-72

PHILADELPHIA — Temple fans celebrated Christmas on Saturday.

Dionte Christmas, a two-time Atlantic 10 Conference scoring champion, dropped 35 points on No. 8 Tennessee in an 88-72 win at the Liacouras Center.

The victory over the Vols (6-2) prompted Owls’ fans to rush the court in celebrating their first regular-season win over a top 10 team in nearly six years.

“We’re ranked too high now,’’ said UT coach Bruce Pearl. “That’s gonna get adjusted.’’

Many of the 1,000 or so orange-clad Tennessee fans in the crowd of 8,068 probably thought Pearl would make some adjustments of his own after the Owls (5-3) took a 34-25 lead into the half.

But Christmas, who had just five points through the first 20 minutes, was like a gift that just kept giving, dropping one 3-pointer after another over the various Vols who tried to guard him.

“I didn’t think I’d get as good of looks as I did,’’ said Christmas, who was 12-of-22 shooting from the floor and 7-of-14 beyond the 3-point arc. “But the coaches told me I’d get a lot of open looks because of the way they (UT) play.

“When I came off screens, their guys had their hands down and were backed off. It surprised me.’’

Imagine how Pearl felt. The Vols’ fourth-year head coach spent the past week putting his young team through challenging practices in an effort to raise the Vols’ defensive intensity.

“We’ve got guys who are tall and long, but they just can’t defend like last year’s team,’’ Pearl said. “Who do you put on him (Christmas)? We had nobody you could put in his hip pocket.’’

The Vols missed junior wing J.P. Prince, who was injured during Friday’s walk-through practice and did not play.

Prince sprained his left ankle when he miss-stepped off the Owls’ elevated court while chasing a loose ball. He was in a walking boot Saturday and described the injury as a “high-ankle” sprain.

UT started the game without freshman Scotty Hopson in the lineup. Hopson was late for the team breakfast Saturday morning and lost his starting spot to Josh Tabb.

Not only were the Vols not 100 percent, they were not giving 100 percent when the game tipped off, and the Owls took full advantage, breaking out to a 13-2 lead 4½ minutes into the game.

UT rallied to tie at 15-15 after freshman Renaldo Woolridge hit a 3-pointer and followed with a pair of free throws at the 11:23 mark, but a Ryan Brooks 3-pointer on Temple’s ensuing possession gave the Owls the lead for good.

“Sometimes plays can change games,’’ Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. “Ryan stepped up and made a huge three right there.’’

The Vols closed within four points, at 52-48 with 11:17 left on a pair of Brian Williams’ free throws, but 34 seconds later Pearl was whistled for his first technical foul of the season and the Owls responded with a 9-2 run to put the game out of reach.

Tennessee, facing another zone defense, couldn’t score the necessary quick points from the perimeter, hitting just 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) beyond the 3-point arc.

Senior center Sergio Olmos made UT pay in the paint as well, scoring a career-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting and pulling down seven rebounds as Temple beat the Vols on the boards 37-33.

“We’re supposed to be pressed up on him to make him put the ball on the floor and turn it over, but we didn’t do that,’’ said Pearl, whose team forced only 11 turnovers. “He also beat us to spots in the post and hurt us there.’’

UT junior Tyler Smith led the Vols with 17 points and four assists, but made only 1-of-5 of his 3-point attempts.

“I rushed a couple of shots, and I can’t do that,’’ Smith said. “I can’t force it; that’s something I never want to do.

“This was disappointing for our team, and to me. It’s an embarrassment.’’

The Vols return to the practice court today in preparation for a 9:30 p.m. EST game Tuesday against No. 24 Marquette (7-1) in the Sommet Center in Nashville.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!