Senior forward Lavoy Allen had his second straight double-double as the men’s basketball team cruised to its eighth straight victory over St. Joseph’s on Saturday.
The Owls never trailed in the game and led by as many as 22 en route to the 72-54 victory. Junior forward Scootie Randall led all Temple players with 17 points while Allen had 15 points and 12 rebounds while also dishing four assists.
Allen’s showing followed up a 15 point, 11 rebound performance against Charlotte. Before the game against the 49ers, Allen was held scoreless in the team’s loss to Xavier. Allen’s recent production surge has been fueled by a number of things, including a return to the basics, Allen said.
“It’s just playing my game and preparing for this game,” Allen said.
“He made a couple of great finishes inside and then he stepped away from the basket along the baseline and made two jumpers,” Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. “He was in rhythm. He looked like a confident, confident kid today. Obviously, his numbers were great.”
Junior guard Ramone Moore struggled from the field but managed to orchestrate the offense to near perfection as he recorded eight assists without ever turning the ball over.
Randall’s production has increased since conference play started. His 14.3 points per games against A-10 competition is second on the team behind Moore’s 14.7 points per game. This season, Randall’s first as a starter, the 6-foot-6-inch forward has averaged 10.5 points per game, the third-best mark on the team.
“Scoot’s having a good year,” Dunphy said. “He understands what his role is. He knows he can make shots on the perimeter. … It goes back to his first couple of years. He did not get that much playing time and now it’s his turn.”
“I just had to wait my turn,” Randall agreed. ““I worked extremely hard in the past summer and that’s what got me to this point today.”
Sophomore guard Carl Jones had 19 points to lead the Hawks. Freshman forward Ronald Roberts added 17 points in the loss. As a team, the Hawks shot 37.5 percent from the floor, including just 25 percent from beyond the arc.
Sophomore forward Rahlir Jefferson added eight points and eight rebonds for the Owls, who shot 49 percent from the field. Sophomore guard Khalif Wyatt, starting in place of junior guard Juan Fernandez for the second straight game, made just one field goal attempt en route to a seven-point performance. Fernandez, out with a knee bruise, could play on Wednesday against La Salle, Dunphy said.
The last time the Owls lost to the Hawks was January 26, 2008. Since then, the Owls have won eight straight games over St. Joe’s, including a victory in the 2008 Atlantic Ten Conference championship game.
“I think they’ve just had a couple of down years,” Allen said. “My freshman year, they had a really great team and we worked harder and tried to play harder than them. I think we just prepare well for games. I’m not sure what it is about them but we do a good job.”
Kyle Gauss can be reached at kyle.gauss@temple.edu
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