ATLANTIC CITY - On the basketball court, Khalif Wyatt's clutch shots seem to always come at the right time.
The Temple guard just slips up when it comes to being on time for team functions.
That's why he didn't start in Friday's 77-71 loss to Massachusetts in an Atlantic Ten tournament quarterfinal at Boardwalk Hall.
Wyatt said he was late for a team meeting earlier this week. He was benched for the first 9 minutes, 36 seconds as T.J. DiLeo started in his place.
"I let my team down," said Wyatt, who finished with a team-high 15 points, five steals, four assists, and three turnovers in 27 minutes.
It was third time this season that the Norristown High School product was held out of the starting lineup for showing up late to a team function.
Wyatt didn't start at Toledo on Dec. 7 for being late for film study. He didn't start against George Washington on Feb. 8 at the Liacouras Center because he showed up late to study hall.
"This is the third time I let my team down," Wyatt said. "I don't know. . . . I just let my team down."
The second-team all-conference selection is the Owls' second-leading scorer, averaging 17 points per game.
"He's really a good guy and he does not have a malicious bone in his body," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "On occasion, he thinks his time is more important than everybody else's. So it puts the control in my hands and I have to do something.
"I was hoping we wouldn't get to this point, but that's what happened."
The NCAA also suspended Wyatt for the Owls' season-opener at Penn for playing in an unsanctioned summer league.
Wyatt suffered a scare on Friday while going to the basket with 17:09 remaining.
He hurt his right knee and went to the locker room to be examined. Wyatt reentered the game two minutes later.
"I was on a fast-break layup and twisted it a little bit," said Wyatt, who had an icepack on the knee after the game. "I'm all right, though."
