Friday, March 18, 2011
TEMPLE 66
PENN ST. 64
Associated Press
TUSCON, 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.
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 0.4 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.”
In their 92nd meeting, neither team had led by more than four points and there were 10 lead changes in an intense second half in the West regional. Talor Battle’s 3-pointer from far behind the arc for Penn State tied it at 64-64 with 12.2 seconds to go.
“That’s what he’s done his whole career,” coach Ed DeChellis said.