It may be only December 13th, but Christmas has exploded in Philadelphia. Temple's Dionte Christmas took over in their upset of No. 8 Tennessee.Christmas scored 35 points, including seven three-point shots, to cruise to an 88-72 win. As the Vols closed the game to within four points in the second half, Christmas nailed three three-pointers to give separation and, ultimately, the win.
It wasn't just Christmas. The Owls did a fantastic job breaking Tennessee's press, moving the ball around and taking the wide open shots they received. It was also remarkable that Temple did an outstanding job of withstanding some runs by the Vols and then widen their own lead.
The Owls shot 55 percent for the game and held the Vols to just 36 percent shooting.
Fellow FanHouser Chas Rich said it perfectly: "(Christmas) has been their best player for the last couple years, but this is the sort of big stage game that gets national notice."
I'm hoping this does get Christmas some run as a great basketball player and not just a guy with a cool name. He's been nearly a 20-point scorer over the past two-plus seasons and has led the Atlantic-10 in scoring the past two seasons.
