"Crosstown rival, Big 5 game, an atmosphere like this, Senior Night, I could not have painted the picture any better," said Christmas, who was aided by fine games from fellow seniors Sergio Olmos and Semaj Inge. "Everybody knew what this game meant, and I think all of our guys did a great job . . . I did not want to go out the wrong way."
Given his team was coming off consecutive losses to La Salle and Dayton, Temple coach Fran Dunphy was especially pleased. The Owls held the Hawks to 32.3 percent shooting from the floor and did an exceptional job on forward Ahmad Nivins, who is also a front-runner for A-10 Player of the Year honors. Olmos held Nivins to 16 points on 6-for-16 shooting from the floor.
"I thought tonight was a critical time for us," Dunphy said. "We needed to re-establish ourselves."
For Hawks coach Phil Martelli, "The script stays the same." The Hawks (15-14, 8-7) just came up short offensively.
"We tried to play a little faster, but we had missed layups and opportunities early on," Martelli said. "You have to have more of a presence in that game."
With Christmas unable to get going in the early part of the first half - he did not score until 10:49 had elapsed - the Hawks opened up a seven-point lead. But Olmos converted a three-point play, Inge tied it at 19-19 with a twisting layup and Christmas found his groove. Christmas hopped off the bench after a brief breather and connected on a long three-point shot that gave the Owls a 24-21 lead. The Owls opened up a seven-point lead at the half as Christmas added six more points, including a stirring slam dunk on a feed downcourt by Inge.
