The effect Mark Tyndale has on men’s basketball coach Fran Dunphy’s rotation began to take shape as the Owls took on Towson Saturday.
Tyndale, a 6-5 junior, didn’t start.
He wasn’t the first guard off the bench, either.
But his 14 points, eight rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes helped the Owls defeat the Tigers, 75-70 at the Towson Center. Tyndale hit two free throws with three seconds remaining to ice the game for the Owls (4-3).
Tyndale, a two-year starter, was ruled eligible to play for the remainder of the season Friday. The junior sat out the first semester because he was academically ineligible.
Tyndale averaged 10.9 points and a team-high 5.1 rebounds per game last season. He ranked second on the Owls with 87 assists and 73 steals.
Tyndale brings experience to a team that had just one returning starter – senior guard Dustin Salisbery – prior to his return.
But guards Semaj Inge and Chris Clark emerged as steady replacements while Tyndale sat out the Owls’ first six games.
Inge is averaging 5.0 ppg and trails only Salisbery in steals, with 12.
Clark’s 22 assists place him second on the Owls behind Salisbery’s team-high 24 assists.
Following the Owls’ loss to Cincinnati on Dec. 9, Dunphy said he had not determined exactly how Tyndale fits into his rotation.
“We may continue to just go the same way we’re going, and now all of a sudden the rotation becomes a little bit different when he’s in there,” Dunphy said. “We’ll see. I hope everything will go well with that. But Mark’s a pretty patient guy, so hopefully, he’ll be able to handle that.”
UP NEXT
The Owls take on Drexel at the Liacouras Center at 7 p.m. Friday. Drexel topped city-rival Villanova, 81-76, on Dec. 9 to improve to 6-2.
The Dragons are led by the frontcourt tandem of center Frank Elegar, who is averaging 14.1 ppg and 7.8 rpg, and forward Chaz Crawford, who tops the team with 8.9 rpg. Guard Bashir Mason leads the backcourt with 13.9 ppg.
John Kopp can be reached at john.kopp@temple.edu.
Be the first to comment