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"We're not going home today," the Owls guard told his teammates as they stood inside the blocks around the paint and watched La Salle's Yves Mekongo Mbala sink one of two free throws.
Luckily for Christmas and the rest of the Owls, they survived to play another day as they beat the Explorers last night, 84-75, in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament at Boardwalk Hall.
The Owls will face Charlotte in the semifinals tonight at 9 o'clock. Charlotte beat Massachusetts last night, 69-65, in another quarterfinal.
"We feel very fortunate to win this game because La Salle played great up until the last shot," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said.
With the Owls leading, 77-75, and52 seconds remaining, senior Chris Clark launched a three-point shot that bounced off the back of the rim twice before falling through and ultimately sealing the victory for the Owls.
"I saw the shot clock run down,'' said Clark, who scored all of his 12 points in the second half. "I knew that I missed a couple [earlier] . . . and I just thought this one had to fall for me. And it did, after hitting almost every part of the rim."
Temple came out attacking, jumping to a 13-2 lead in the first 6 minutes. Temple, which shot 55.1 percent for the game, limited the Explorers to just four field goals in the first 11 minutes, 23 seconds of the game.
But the tables would soon turn, even though Temple started the second half much like the first. After the Owls built a 14-point lead in the second half, La Salle answered with a 24-9 run over an 8-minute stretch.
"Coach just told us to stay focused and poised because teams are going to have their runs," said Christmas, who had a game-high 29 points. "Everything fell into place after that and we were very fortunate to get this win."
Christmas, who had 19 of his points in the first half, was held to a lone three-pointer on just 1-for-5 shooting from the floor in the second half. He said he had difficulty with La Salle's second-half defensive pressure.
After posting 19 points in the Owls' 85-66 win at La Salle last week, Christmas said he expected the Explorers to come out looking for revenge.
"I knew they would come out with some intensity and spunk," said Christmas. "I thought they did a better job on Mark [Tyndale] and myself by forcing us to take tough shots."
La Salle, which was led by Rodney Green (20 points) and Darnell Harris (18 points), already exceeded this year's expectations. After beating Duquesne Wednesday night in the first round, La Salle coach John Giannini praised his team for never letting up in the face of adversity.
"It was a great basketball game, especially in the second half," said Giannini. "We didn't play as well in the first half as we would have liked, but I am really proud of my kids' effort and the way they have been working so hard all year to get where we are today."
Temple is hoping good fortune remains on its side for the rest of the weekend. Only a conference championship can guarantee the Owls a date in the Big Dance next week. But for now, Dunphy and his Owls are focused on the next task.
"The only thing we can do is try to survive and move on," said Dunphy. "We survived a game and now we are fortunate enough to hang around another day." *
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