Temple ends skid at buzzer

Times wires
Thursday, March 17, 2011

TUCSON, Ariz. — Don't call him "one-and-Dunphy" anymore.

Juan Fernandez sank an off-balance 18-footer with less than a second to play to hand Temple a wild 66-64 victory over Penn State and end coach Fran Dunphy's NCAA Tournament-record 11-game losing streak.

"It might have been our time, that's all," Dunphy said. "Just our time."

And a long time coming for one of college basketball's most respected coaches, whose team advanced to a third-round matchup Saturday against the West's No. 2 seed, San Diego State.

Fernandez, double-teamed as time was running out, forced up the winning shot off his right foot while fading to his left just inside the 3-point line. The clock read .4 seconds as the ball went through the net.

In the timeout that preceded the shot, Temple's Khalif Wyatt had some advice for his coach: Put the ball in Fernandez's hands and let him determine the outcome.

"I was thinking about shooting a jump shot but I killed my dribble and (Tim) Frazier was right there," Fernandez said. "For some reason he jumped over to my right and that gave me the space to go left."

It's not the kind of shot anyone practices, Fernandez said.

"Like coach said," he said, "it was our time."

Frazier gave Fernandez all the credit.

"He drove, picked up the ball," Frazier said. "I closed out high end so he wouldn't be able to shoot over me. (He) made a great move, pivoted a couple of times and then stepped through. It was a great shot."

Fernandez and Ramone Moore scored 23 each for the seventh-seeded Owls (26-7). Battle scored 23 for the 10th-seeded Nittany Lions (19-15) in their first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade.

SAN DIEGO ST. 68, N. COLO. 50: Aztecs players chased Devon Beitzel around screens, got hands in his face, challenged his shots.

Nothing seemed to work, just like in two regular-season games against BYU's Jimmer Fredette.

But, just like they did against the real Jimmer, San Diego State eventually figured out a way to shut down Little Jimmer and finally win an NCAA Tournament game.

The second-seeded Aztecs tightened their defense after a second-half scoring flurry by Beitzel and advanced for the first time.

"This is a win for everybody that's been associated with San Diego State," Aztecs coach Steve Fisher said. "And I need to go beyond our 12 years, for everybody that's put on a San Diego State uniform or walked the halls there. We've got a lot of proud Aztecs today."

The Aztecs (33-2) had their hands full with the 15th-seeded Bears (21-11) of the Big Sky early and looked to be in trouble when Beitzel hit 3-pointers in rapid succession to open the second half.

San Diego State withstood the flurry and answered Beitzel's burst with a 13-0 run.

UCONN 81, BUCKNELL 52: Kemba Walker traded his role of scorer for playmaker, with record-breaking results.

Walker had a career-high 12 assists and added 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the No. 3 seed Huskies in Washington.

Connecticut (27-9) showed no signs of fatigue after winning five games in five days last week in the Big East tournament. UConn led by 17 at halftime and upped the margin to 32 with just more than 15 minutes left.

Walker's assists were a school record for an NCAA Tournament game. The 14th-seeded Bison (25-9) went in with a 10-game winning streak.

CINCINNATI 78, MISSOURI 63: The Bearcats weren't about to play the Tigers' game.

Try to run on Cincinnati? Not this time.

One of the best defenses in the country held firm, and the sixth-seeded Bearcats took the lead for good midway through the first half and held Missouri to 38 percent shooting in Washington.

Big man Yancy Gates had 18 points, including two 3-pointers that doubled his total on the season, and 11 rebounds for the Bearcats (26-8), who won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in six years. Ricardo Ratliffe scored 13 for the Tigers (23-11).

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/basketball/college/temple-ends-skid-at-buzzer/1158087

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