Gene Keady predicted this.
The day before Purdue met Temple in the East Regional semifinals in Continental Airlines Arena, the Boilermakers coach said, “I think whoever gets the lead at first will have some control.”
But Keady couldn’t have guessed that his 10th-seeded Boilermakers would lose control the way it did in 77-55 drubbing Friday night.
The meltdown came with 13 minutes 21 seconds to go in the first half. Purdue led 11-7 and seemed comfortable attacking the Owls’ baffling matchup zone. The Boilermakers had the look of the confident team that had won 12 of its first 13 games.
But then the roof caved in during a bizarre 19-second sequence that will keep them awake in the Wabash River Valley until next autumn.
First Temple center Kevin Lyde scored on a layup to make it 11-9, Purdue. Lyde also drew a foul on Purdue’s Greg McQuay.
But Temple’s Quincy Wadley and Purdue’s Jaraan Cornell got tangled after the whistle. The referees called a technical foul on Cornell.
Lyde hit his free throw to make it 11-10.
Then Pepe Sanchez hit the two free throws resulting from Cornell’s technical to give Temple a 12-11 lead. Keady was livid.
Temple took the ball in, and 19 seconds later Alan Eldridge fouled Owls guard Rasheed Brokenborough, who hit one of the two free throws. Now it was 13-11, Temple.
Keady had railed at the refs throughout this sequence and they finally rewarded him with a technical of his own. Sanchez hit the two free throws and Temple led 15-11.
The Owls inbounded the ball and quickly scored on a 3-footer by Mark Karcher. Now it was 18-11.
When the nightmare finally ended, Purdue had surrendered 11 consecutive points, six of them on free throws, without touching the basketball.
The low-scoring Owls would have trouble scoring 11 consecutive points against the pep band. But they kept knocking down shots–they hit 54.6 percent in the first half–and by intermission they had a commanding 47-32 lead. It was Temple’s highest first-half point total of the season.
The second half was more of the same, minus the technicals.
The loss left the Boilermakers out after the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive March.
The Owls, meanwhile, are one victory away from the Final Four. All they have to do is beat top-ranked Duke Sunday afternoon.
At least they’ll have a hometown crowd. Continental Airlines Arena is only 90 minutes from Philly.
