Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 17, 1991 TAG: 9103170109
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: COLLEGE PARK, MD. LENGTH: Medium
Attack from the outside to draw the Owls out of their tight 2-3 zone and pull their big men away from the basket.
Have the lead in the closing minutes so Temple couldn't orchestrate the ending with its patient ball-control game.
A good plan, it just didn't work.
The Owls' interior players dominated, Temple made 15 of 18 free throws in the final five minutes and Temple advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 round with a 77-64 victory over Richmond.
Senior guard Mark Macon scored 20 points and Mik Kilgore added 18 for the 10th-seeded Owls (23-9), who will play third-seeded Oklahoma State (24-7) on Friday when the East Regionals continue in East Rutherford, N.J.
"You have to come early and stay late," said Temple coach John Chaney. "You can't take any coffee breaks. We faced a tremendous challenge today. I just wanted them to give me the kind of concentration it takes."
Richmond (22-9) and Temple had 23 field goals each, but the Spiders got few inside. Centers Jim Shields and Jim Springer combined for one point and four rebounds.
On the other side, Temple's 7-foot center Donald Hodge had 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Forward Mark Strickland had nine points and 10 rebounds before fouling out.
"It's tough when you don't get a field goal from your centers," said Tarrant, whose team got just eight field goals inside. "We tried to go inside, but each time they stifled us. We had no choice but to stay with a perimeter game."
Inside superiority allowed Temple to extend the exterior pressure of its 2-3 zone and eventually cut off Richmond's outside attack.
The Spiders made 12 3-point field goals, but just one came in the final seven minutes when they were outscored 18-7.
Richmond got a game-high 25 points from sophomore forward Chris Fleming, who came off the bench to make seven 3-pointers. But he, like Terry Connolly, who had 12 points, and Curtis Blair, who had seven, was neutralized down the stretch by Temple's pressure.
"They played almost a man-to-man on our perimeter people because they knew we couldn't do anything inside," said Tarrant, who is 0-2 against Temple in NCAA Tournament play. "We hit a dozen 3-pointers and all that did was keep us in the game. Then they took our shots away. They're well-schooled and adjust to the flow of the game."
The Spiders' chances down the stretch were hampered when with 6:29 remaining sophomore forward Kenny Wood, who had 10 points and seven rebounds, was struck in his left eye by a teammate, Springer, as they scrambled for a rebound.
Wood's eye swelled shut, and he left the game. He didn't return.
After Wood's injury, Richmond didn't score for nearly four minutes, and Temple pushed a five-point lead to 66-57 with 2:49 left.
A 3-pointer by Connolly followed by two free throws pulled the Spiders to 66-62 with 2:08 left, but Temple scored the next 10 points, all from the free-throw line.
For the game, the Owls made 26 of 31 free throws.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB