Temple topples another top 10, Georgetown, for Dunphy's 400th win

EACH OF THE previous two Decembers, Temple's basketball team had knocked off a previously unbeaten Top 10 opponent at the Liacouras Center.

In 2008 it was eighth-ranked Tennessee that came to North Philly and lost by 16 points.

And a year ago, it was No. 3 Villanova that went down, this time by 10.

It had become sort of an early holiday present. And it's the kind of gift that can keep on giving, all the way to Selection Sunday.

Last night, it was No. 9 Georgetown's turn to get into the spirit.

Temple, 68-65. And a tradition unlike many others continued. Storm the court once again. The only difference is, it happened 4 days earlier on the calendar than the other two.

This was some big-boy hoops, on ESPN. Thirteen months earlier, the Hoyas beat Temple by one in Washington on a late field goal.

This one nearly had the same ending. The Hoyas were down one with under 10 seconds to go when they got a good look inside. But Hollis Thompson actually got too close to the basket, and his shot hit nothing but iron.

Lavoy Allen got the rebound and got the ball to Juan Fernandez, who threw it long to Rahlir Jefferson. He was fouled and hit two free throws with 2.3 seconds showing. The best Georgetown could do was get it in to Austin Freeman, the preseason Big East Player of the Year, who managed to heave one from midcourt that went way wide left off the glass.

"It's a terrific win for our program," said fifth-year coach Fran Dunphy, who got career win No. 400, the first 310 of which came at Penn starting in 1989. "Knowing how solid a program [Georgetown is] makes it that much more pleasing."

His Owls (6-2) were coming off a three-point win over Maryland on Sunday in the nation's capital. They'd started the season in the Top 25. This won't hurt their chances of getting back there.

Junior guard Ramone Moore had 30 points, six more than his previous career best. In last season's heartbreaking loss, he missed a late free throw with Temple up by one.

"It was a really big game, I knew I had to step up for my teammates," said Moore, who made 12 of 18 shots, including the three-pointer that put Temple ahead for keeps with just under 6 minutes left after Georgetown pulled even for the only time. "When you're a kid, you dream of making big shots in big games like this. Tonight, my dream came true. It was just a great night for us. We just came in real focused."

The Owls would lead by five with just over 2 minutes left. Georgetown (8-1) cut it to one, at 46.8 seconds, on a layup by big man Julian Vaughn. The Hoyas got the ball back when Fernandez missed a long three with the shot clock winding down. But they couldn't take advantage of the opening, in their first true road game since the opener at Old Dominion.

The Owls, who were ahead by as many as 11 late in the first half, took a 39-32 lead into the locker room. The biggest spread after that was six with just over 12 minutes remaining.

"We had to keep fighting," said Moore, whose 17 points in the first half was already a season-best and a little more than four better than his average. "We knew they weren't going to give up. We had to keep our composure.

"I've always been calm. It's something I've always done."

The Owls, who convert 63 percent at the foul line, missed only two of 18 free throws. But both came in the final 3:34. The Hoyas, who went 18-for-20 themselves, finished with seven more rebounds and six more turnovers.

Georgetown got 15 from Jason Clark, who only had three after intermission. Three others reached double digits, including Freeman, who had 14, six below his norm. And he needed 15 shots to get that.

The Owls also got 10 points from Scootie Randall, whose only second-half basket was a tap-in that extended the margin to five at the 5-minute mark, and Jefferson (6-for-7 at the line) off the bench. But this wasn't so much a game of numbers as it was about grit between two teams who figure to be factors in March.

Temple made a few more plays. In matchups like these, even this early, that's often what it comes down to.

"I think we competed, at both ends of the floor, in every sense of the word," Dunphy said. "For 'Mone to score 30 in a game like this is pretty special. I'm proud of him for that.

"In the pregame dinner, there wasn't a lot of chatter. They certainly rose to the occasion . . . We just got lucky on that missed shot [by Thompson]. You're just hoping to hold on at that point."

The Owls played for themselves. And the man who's been known to get on them at practice on a regular basis.

"It's not like [Dunphy's] going to talk [about himself]," Moore duly noted. "That's just how he is. We wanted to come in here and make it a great night [for him].

"All the guys were hyped up. We could've beaten them last year. When you play Georgetown, you want to play your best ball."

Or else you might have to start a new tradition.

Temple freshman forward Anthony Lee, who has yet to play this season, will undergo surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back and will be out an extended amount of time . . . Prior to the game, there was a moment of silence for Temple alum Phil Jasner, the longtime Daily News' basketball writer who passed away last Friday. On Wednesday, he had been similarly honored before the Villanova-Penn game at the Palestra.