Frustrating end to a good season

TUCSON, Ariz. - Tears rolled down Scootie Randall's face. Nearby, T.J. DiLeo and Ramone Moore stared in disbelief, while Khalif Wyatt could not contain his frustration.

The Temple players had seen their season come to an end minutes earlier in the NCAA tournament.

The seventh-seeded Owls' season ended with Saturday night's 71-64 double-overtime loss to second-seeded San Diego State.

The Owls felt that they had let one another down. They felt especially bad about not winning another game for senior power forward Lavoy Allen.

Their disappointment was understandable, but it can be argued that it was unwarranted. In a way, the 26-8 Owls overachieved. They tied the 1983-84 team (26-5) for the seventh-highest win total in school history.

Hampered by injuries, Temple had just one player - Moore - start every game this season. The Owls' biggest losses were Micheal Eric and Randall.

Eric suffered a season-ending fractured right kneecap on Feb. 15. An intimidating inside presence, the 6-foot-11 junior center blocked 1.6 shots per game and altered many more.

Randall, the Atlantic Ten's most improved player this season, missed seven games with a hairline fracture in his right foot. He returned for the NCAA tournament in a reserve role but saw brief action. The junior swingman had averaged 17.3 points over the last eight games before his absence.

Junior point guard Juan Fernandez and Allen also missed games with injuries.

Fernandez sat out four games with a bone bruise in his left knee, while Allen missed a game with sprained left ankle.

Freshman forward Anthony Lee (herniated disk) and senior forward Craig Williams (broken left foot) missed the entire season.

"I will appreciate what this team did," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "It was a very resilient team, a very tough-minded team. They believe in one another.

"And hopefully in a couple of weeks, we will be able to pick it back up and get back to some limited practice we will be allowed to have."

The Owls expect to carry over this season's success. Temple will return four starters and eight of its top nine players. Three of those starters are double-digit scorers.

Moore, a junior guard, averaged a team-leading 15.2 points to go with 4.2 rebounds per game. Fernandez averaged 11.2 points and 3.9 assists, and Randall ended up averaging 10.7 points.

Wyatt, the A-10's sixth man of the year, was also a double-figure scorer at 10.1 points per game. The sophomore reserve guard was the team's leading three-point shooter at 42.1 percent.

"I think we have a very good foundation," Dunphy said, "and I'm very proud of our team."