|
 |  |
|
AD PARTNERS
|  |
BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- Ty Shine and Seton Hall turned John Chaney's dream of his first Final Four into a nightmare. Shine drilled a 3-pointer with 18.9 seconds left in overtime as the 10th-seeded Pirates overcame an ankle injury to starting point guard Shaheen Holloway to shock No. 2 Temple, 67-65, in an East Region second-round game. The sophomore guard picked up the slack in Holloway's absence, scoring a career-high 26 points. He gave Temple (27-6) a chance to tie by hitting only 1-of-2 from the line with 4.8 seconds left, but Lynn Greer's desperation jumper from just across midcourt caromed off the rim at the buzzer. "I'm not new (to replacing) Holloway," Shine said. "This happened last year and I was able to provide a boost to the team. I just wanted to step up today when I saw Shaheen go down. I was going to come in and play hard, regardless of how I came into the game." "It seems whenever anyone on this team goes down, somebody else steps up and takes over," Holloway added. "The team just rallied. It was a tremendous game. I am so proud of everybody." Seton Hall frustrated Temple by making an East Region-record 15 3-pointers on 30 attempts. Shine averaged only 7.1 points during the regular season, but hit 7-of-11 3-pointers against the Owls. "We drew closer together in the face of adversity," Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker said. "I don't think anyone could have expected us to play the way we did without Holloway." Seton Hall reached the "Sweet 16" for the first time since 1992 and continues to lead a charmed existence in the tournament, posting its second straight overtime victory. Amaker recalled the tragic fire on the Seton Hall campus that killed three students in January. "Our whole school drew closer as a result of the tragic fire," he said. "Our team has shown a lot of heart and guts to perform under those circumstances. This team has won a lot of close games and it has a lot to do with their mental toughness." On Friday, the Pirates edged Oregon, 72-71, on Holloway's coast-to-coast drive with 1.9 seconds remaining in overtime. Today, he watched the second half in a wheelchair after suffering a severe sprained left ankle with 12 minutes remaining in the first half. He returned to the Seton Hall bench after going for X-rays. "When I went down, I was afraid this was going to be my last college game," Holloway said. "I didn't want it to end like this. I don't know what's going to happen now, but it's great that we advanced." The Pirates will take on Oklahoma State in Friday's regional semifinals in Syracuse, New York. The Cowboys advanced with a 75-67 win over Pepperdine. "For us to come out of this with a win, it is very exciting, probably the most exciting thing to happen in my life," said Seton Hall guard Rimas Kaukenas, who scored 18 points. "We are very fortunate to play together and have a coach like coach Amaker." This was thought to be Chaney's best chance to finally reach the Final Four. Instead, the Owls became the third No. 2 seed to bow out in the second round, joining St. John's and Cincinnati. Temple has lost in a regional final three times in Chaney's 18 years at the school, including last year to Duke. Ironically, Amaker was a member of the Duke team that defeated Chaney's Owls in the Elite Eight in 1988. "This team certainly has a lot more talent and a lot more depth than any team I've had, but you're best team is not always the team that wins," Chaney said. "We won a lot of ugly games, games where we didn't shoot well and we sometimes won. Today, we weren't able to do that." Temple turned 16 Seton Hall turnovers in 26 points, but could not overcome 39 percent shooting (23-of-59) from the field. The Owls also hurt themselves by making 6-of-18 free throws after hitting only 8-of-19 in their first-round win over Lafayette. "My stomach is empty," Temple guard Pepe Sanchez said. "That's the tournament. There's a lot pressure and I guess we weren't ready today." To a man, the Owls were disappointed that Chaney will have to wait yet another year to get to the Final Four. "We're sorry we let him down," Greer said. "I thought we had a chance this year. Hopefully, he'll have another chance to go." Temple also suffered a critical blow when Sanchez, its floor general, fouled out with 37 seconds left in regulation. Darius Lane made the two free throws to give Seton Hall a 57-54 lead, but Mark Karcher drilled his sixth 3-pointer to tie it with 24 seconds left. Seton Hall missed a chance to win in regulation when Kevin Wilkins' jumper from the right baseline caromed off the rim at the buzzer. Facing a team playing on pure emotion, Temple stayed close behind the shooting of Karcher, who scored 27 points. Quincy Wadley added 13 for Temple. Greer's 3-pointer and a foul shot by Karcher staked Temple to a 65-63 lead with 41 seconds left in the extra session. Shine, who was just 2-of-10 from the field against Oregon, answered with the biggest basket of his career, swishing a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Temple set up for the last shot, but Greer threw the ball away as he penetrated into the lane with four seconds left, crushing the Owls' hopes. Kaukenas' 3-pointer gave Seton Hall a 63-59 lead with 2:53 left in overtime, but Karcher's layup pulled Temple within 63-61 with 2:29 to go.
|
