# 2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball team represented Temple University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Fran Dunphy and played their home games at the Liacouras Center. The Owls are members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 22–12 and 11–5 in A-10 play. They won the 2009 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament for the second consecutive year to receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
Dionte Christmas led Temple in three statistics: points per game (19.5), three-pointers completed (107), and total steals (51); he finished second in two more: rebounds per game (5.5) and assists (28). In addition, he was an honorable mention All-American and scored 2,000 points over his college basketball career. Also graduating were two other starters: 7–0 center Sergio Olmos, who was selected as an All-A10 Tournament player, and point guard Semaj Inge.

## Preseason

On October 28, 2008, the Owls were picked by other Atlantic 10 coaches to finish second, behind Xavier, and received 12 first place votes. Dionte Christmas was chosen to the Preseason First Team after leading the league in scoring the past two seasons. Lavoy Allen was named to the Preseason Defensive Team.

## Roster

| # | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Position | Class | Hometown | Hometown | High School |
| 2 | Ryan Brooks | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 200 pounds (91 kg) | G | Jr. | Narberth, Pennsylvania | U.S. | Lower Merion HS |
| 4 | Juan Fernandez | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 pounds (82 kg) | G | Fr. | Río Tercero, Córdoba | Argentina | Dr. Alexis Carrel HS |
| 10 | Luis Guzman | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 200 pounds (91 kg) | G | Jr. | New York City, New York | U.S. | Paramus Catholic HS |
| 11 | T. J. DiLeo | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 195 pounds (88 kg) | G | Fr. | Cinnaminson, New Jersey | U.S. | Cinnaminson HS |
| 15 | Semaj Inge | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 pounds (86 kg) | G | Sr. | Camden, New Jersey | U.S. | Woodrow Wilson HS |
| 21 | Rafael DeLeon | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 pounds (91 kg) | F | Jr. | District Heights, Maryland | U.S. | Bishop McNamara HS |
| 22 | Dionte Christmas | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 205 pounds (93 kg) | G | Sr. | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | U.S. | Lutheran Christian Academy |
| 23 | Ramone Moore | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 pounds (82 kg) | G | Fr. | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | U.S. | South Philadelphia HS |
| 24 | Lavoy Allen | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 225 pounds (102 kg) | F | So. | Morrisville, Pennsylvania | U.S. | Pennsbury HS |
| 30 | Craig Williams | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 240 pounds (110 kg) | F | So. | Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands | U.S. | St. Croix Central HS |
| 33 | Scootie Randall | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 205 pounds (93 kg) | F | Fr. | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | U.S. | Communications Tech HS |
| 41 | Sergio Olmos | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 220 pounds (100 kg) | C | Sr. | Valencia | Spain | Vincente Blasco Ibanez HS |
| 50 | Micheal Eric | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 240 pounds (110 kg) | F/C | Fr. | Lagos | Nigeria | Church Farm School |

## Schedule

2008–09 game log :
November
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
November 14
East Tennessee State
W 79–65
Dionte Christmas – 26
Lavoy Allen – 15
Christmas/Semaj Inge – 6
Carolina First Arena, Charleston, SC (527)
1–0
2
November 15
College of Charleston
W 70–65
Christmas – 26
Allen – 12
Luis Guzman – 5
Carolina First Arena, Charleston, SC (2,532)
2–0
3
November 16
Clemson
L 76–72
Ryan Brooks – 19
Guzman – 7
Guzman – 7
Carolina First Arena, Charleston, SC (3,026)
2–1
4
November 21
Lafayette
W 71–55
Christmas – 29
Christmas – 12
Christmas/Guzman – 3
Allan P. Kirby Arena, Easton, PA (3,297)
3–1
5
November 29
Buffalo
L 83–73
Christmas – 25
Christmas – 6
Guzman – 7
Alumni Arena, Buffalo, NY (2,035)
3–2 :
December
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
6
December 3
Miami (OH)
L 68–52
Sergio Olmos – 12
Brooks – 6
Inge – 5
Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (5,029)
3–3
7
December 6
Penn State
W 65–59
Inge – 19
Allen – 10
Inge – 6
Bryce Jordan Center, State College, PA (9,833)
4–3
8
December 13
#8 Tennessee
W 88–72
Christmas – 35
Brooks – 10
Inge – 4
Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (8,068)
5–3
9
December 20
Kansas
L 71–59
Christmas – 21
Allen – 7
Allen – 5
Phog Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS (16,300)
5–4
10
December 22
Long Beach State
L 76–71
Christmas – 19
Allen – 11
Allen – 5
Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, CA (2,042)
5–5
11
December 29
#13 Villanova
L 62–45
Christmas – 13
Christmas/Olmos – 5
Christmas – 4
The Pavilion, Villanova, PA (6,500)
5–6 :
January
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
12
January 5
Kent State
W 73–58
Christmas – 26
Allen – 10
Brooks/Juan Fernandez – 4
Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (3,508)
6–6
13
January 7
Eastern Michigan
W 67–45
Christmas – 17
Allen – 5
Allen/Christmas – 3
Convocation Center, Ypsilanti, MI (493)
7–6
14
January 11
La Salle
W 75–68
Christmas – 30
Allen/Inge – 6
Inge – 6
Tom Gola Arena, Philadelphia, PA (3,510)
8–6 (1–0)
15
January 14
Pennsylvania
W 78–53
Christmas – 25
Christmas – 9
Inge/Fernandez – 5
The Palestra, Philadelphia, PA (4,261)
9–6
16
January 17
UMass
L 79–75
Christmas – 26
Christmas – 9
Allen – 5
William D. Mullins Center, Amherst, MA (7,182)
9–7 (1–1)
17
January 22
Saint Louis
W 65–40
Allen – 16
Allen/Christmas – 7
Christmas – 5
Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (4,856)
10–7 (2–1)
18
January 24
Charlotte
W 80–53
Inge – 19
Allen – 10
Fernandez – 4
Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (5,747)
11–7 (3–1)
19
January 28
Rhode Island
L 67–59
Christmas – 27
Micheal Eric – 7
Guzman – 3
Thomas M. Ryan Center, Kingston, RI (5,028)
11–8 (3–2)
20
January 31
Richmond
W 74–65
Inge – 19
Christmas – 13
Christmas – 3
Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (6,087)
12–8 (4–2) :
February
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
21
February 5
#9 Xavier
L 83–74
Olmos – 18
Allen – 14
Christmas – 8
Cintas Center, Cincinnati, OH (10,250)
12–9 (4–3)
22
February 8
Rhode Island
W 68–62
Allen – 23
Allen – 13
Inge – 7
Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (5,654)
13–9 (5–3)
23
February 12
Saint Joseph's
W 61–59
Christmas – 19
Christmas – 11
Christmas/Inge – 4
The Palestra, Philadelphia, PA (8,722)
14–9 (6–3)
24
February 15
Duquesne
W 78–73
Fernandez – 19
Craig Williams – 6
Christmas – 4
A.J. Palumbo Center, Pittsburgh, PA (4,029)
15–9 (7–3)
25
February 18
Fordham
W 72–45
Allen – 19
Allen – 11
Fernandez – 4
Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (3,837)
16–9 (8–3)
26
February 22
St. Bonaventure
W 70–56
Allen – 20
Allen – 18
Allen – 4
Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (7,092)
17–9 (9–3)
27
February 26
La Salle
L 70–63
Christmas – 19
Allen – 12
Fernandez – 6
Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (6,031)
17–10 (9–4)
28
February 28
Dayton
L 70–65
Christmas/Brooks – 20
Allen – 11
Guzman – 4
University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, OH (13,435)
17–11 (9–5) :
March
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
29
March 5
Saint Joseph's
W 68–59
Christmas – 23
Williams – 9
Fernandez – 5
Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (9,349)
18–11 (10–5)
30
March 7
George Washington
W 63–53
Allen – 17
Allen – 16
Inge – 5
Charles E. Smith Center, Washington, DC (2,828)
19–11 (11–5)
31
March 12
Saint Joseph's
W 79–65
Brooks – 19
Allen – 13
Inge/Christmas – 4
Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ (4,837)
20–11
32
March 13
#19 Xavier
W 55–53
Christmas – 20
Allen – 11
Christmas – 3
Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ
21–11
33
March 14
Duquesne
W 69–64
Christmas – 29
Allen – 14
Inge – 8
Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ (6,823)
22–11
34
March 20
Arizona State
L 66–57
Christmas – 29
Allen – 10
Allen/Inge – 4
AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, FL (10,163)
22–12 :
2015–16 season schedule :

## Season
### Preconference season

Dionte Christmas scored 35 points to lead Temple past #8 Tennessee on December 13 88–72. This was Temple's first win over a top ten team since the 2006 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament, when the Owls upset #6 George Washington; John Chaney was coaching Temple at the time. The Owls started the game with an 8–0 lead and never faltered, with Tennessee only tying the score at 15 and never leading. Christmas started the second half with a three-pointer and scored three consecutive threes on a 17–6 run. For the game, he was 7-for-14 from the perimeter and 12-for-22 from the field. Sergio Olmos's 19 points were a career high, and Ryan Brooks registered a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds.

### Postseason

Temple was given a four seed in the 2009 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament; they received a bye and faced Saint Joseph's in the quarterfinals.
In the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Temple was seeded eleventh in the South Regional, where they faced the sixth-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils in the first round. On March 20, 2009, behind a then career-high 22 points by Sun Devil Derek Glasser, Arizona State eliminated Temple 66–57. The Owls never had a lead, but cut the deficit to 52–49, the closest the game ever got. Temple's offense went without a field goal in the final 5:02. However, their defense held Arizona State star James Harden to nine points, less than half his season average, and 1-of-8 shooting. Dionte Christmas played all 40 minutes, shot 5-for-11 from behind the arc and scored 29 points in his final collegiate game.