• Season: 1989-90
• Date: Sunday, February 11, 1990
• Opponent: Temple
• Start Time: ?
• Site: Curry Hicks Cage
• Special Event: Atlantic 10 Regular Season
• Television: ?
• Radio: ?

• Result: Temple 83, UMass 82, 3OT
• Attendance: 4,024

Temple edges UMass
By Joe Burris, Boston Globe Staff, 2/12/1990

AMHERST – What a way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Yesterday's Temple-UMass game had a little of everything. Three overtimes. Clutch shooting. Poor shooting. Heads-up plays. Officiating controversies. Raucous fans. A near brawl between the two head coaches. Almost everything.

Except UMass' first win over Temple in 16 tries.
(UMassHoops.com note: This was actually the 17th meeting between UMass and Temple.)

The Minutemen came as close to beating Temple as they've ever come, but in the end, yesterday's contest ended like the 15 that preceded it. Temple guard Michael Harden drilled a pull-up 3-pointer with 19 seconds left and the Owls withstood two UMass possessions that followed for an 83-82 victory before 4,024 screaming fans at Curry-Hicks Cage.

In a game that included 11 ties and seven lead changes, Temple improved to 13-8 overall, 11-2 in Atlantic 10 Conference play. UMass fell to 12-10 overall, 7-6 in the league.

Harper Williams (31) and Jim McCoy (20) defend Mark Macon. Photo by Damian Strohmeyer / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

Although he fouled out with 4:15 left in the first OT, Mark Macon led Temple with 35 points, including the Owls' last 5 in regulation. Jim McCoy led UMass with 23, and on his 16th point became the first player in school history to score 1,000 as a sophomore. But McCoy, 9 for 22 from the field, missed several key shots in the extra time, including a big one in the third OT. After Harden hit the 3-pointer, McCoy fired a pull-up jumper that bounced off the rim with eight seconds left; Temple's Mark Strickland grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Strickland missed the front end of a one-and-one and UMass got the rebound with one second to go. But Tony Barbee's final attempt fell short.

Both teams had opportunities to win at the end of regulation and each overtime. UMass' William Herndon (21 points) hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 69 with a minute to go in regulation.

In the first OT, Strickland and Donald Hodge (25 points) missed attempts before the buzzer sounded and the frame ended with the teams knotted at 71.

UMass gave an exceptional effort, but coach John Calipari has had his share of good efforts that end in close defeats. UMass has now lost five games by 5 points or less.

“I'm sad,” said Calipari. “This took a lot out of me. It was like we won this game seven times and lost it eight. I lost 12 pounds, lost my voice and split my pants. There's no moral victory in this loss.”

The emotion-filled affair included a near brawl between Calipari and Temple coach John Chaney. A controversy erupted at the 3:44 mark when Temple forward Mik Kilgore tipped in a Macon miss, both shots coming after the 45-second clock had expired. At first, the officials ruled that the shot counted, but after a long conference they reversed the decision. Chaney went to the scorer's table to confer with the officials and Calipari joined in the conference. After a verbal exchange between the coaches, Chaney shoved Calipari and then both had to be restrained.

A few seconds of the confrontation can be seen in this video, starting at the 1:08 mark.

Each admitted he had lost his composure in the heat of the emotional game; they shook hands and talked afterward.

Philadelphia Inquirer: The real story and meaning behind John Chaney’s most unforgettable moment (2/1/2021)

TEMPLE (83) – Michael Harden 3-6 1-2 9, Ernest Pollard 0-0 0-0 0, Mark Macon 11-21 10-13 35, Mark Strickland 3-6 0-1 6, Mik Kilgore 2-7 0-2 6, Shoun Randolph 1-3 0-0 2, John Conic 0-0 0-0 0, Donald Hodge 7-17 11-12 25, Chris Lovelace 0-2 0-0 0. TOTALS: 27-62 (43.5%) 22-30 (73.3%) 83.

MASSACHUSETTS (82) – Rafer Giles 5-9 5-5 18, Anton Brown 1-3 1-2 3, Cary Herer 1-2 2-2 4, Jim McCoy 9-22 4-5 23, Tony Barbee 1-3 1-2 3, Harper Williams 3-4 0-0 6, Will Herndon 8-12 5-7 21, Tom Pace 0-0 0-0 0, John Tate 2-3 0-0 4. TOTALS: 30-58 (51.7%) 18-23 (78.3%) 82.

HALFTIME: Temple 36, Massachusetts 32. REGULATION: Massachusetts 69, Temple 69. FIRST OVERTIME: Massachusetts 71, Temple 71. SECOND OVERTIME: Massachusetts 75, Temple 75. 3-POINT GOALS: Temple 7-11 (Macon 3-4, Kilgore 2-3, Harden 2-4), Massachusetts 4-8 (Giles 3-6, McCoy 1-1, Brown 0-1). REBOUNDS: Temple 43 (Hodge 14), Massachusetts 28 (Herndon 5). ASSISTS: Temple 12 (Harden 5), Massachusetts 22 (Herer 12). FOULED OUT: Macon, Randolph, Williams, Herndon. TOTAL FOULS: Temple 21, Massachusetts 23. ATTENDANCE: 4,024.

RECORDS: Temple 11-2/13-8, Massachusetts 7-6/12-10.

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Temple          36   33   2   4   8  -  83
Massachusetts   32   37   2   4   7  -  82
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