Macon Propels Temple Past Pepperdine, 56-55

Pepperdine’s Damin Lopez and Temple’s Mark Macon each reacted differently under pressure Saturday night in the third-place game of the Fiesta Bowl tournament.

With 24 seconds to play and the Waves leading, 55-54, Lopez, a redshirt freshman guard, missed the first free throw of a one-and-one situation.

That gave Temple (5-3) and Macon, a senior guard, a chance to win the game--and Macon didn’t miss.

With five seconds to play, the closely guarded All-American sank a 15-foot jump shot, giving the Owls a 56-55 comeback victory.

Perhaps Macon was saving his best for last. He scored only four points in the first half and was two for 10 from the field, missing all three shots from three-point range. He and his teammates shot only 26.9% in the half, while Pepperdine shot 50% and led by as many as 16 points. The Waves led, 27-17, at halftime.

But Macon found the range in the second half. He scored 10 points in a little more than four minutes, and Temple drew within 32-27.

Pepperdine went back in front, 39-29, but Temple forced the Waves into a series of turnovers and went on a 15-3 run to take a 44-42 lead, its first lead of the game.

The Waves then regained the lead on a three-point shot by Lopez and stayed ahead until Macon’s winning shot. Pepperdine was unable to get a shot in the last three seconds.

Temple Coach John Chaney had the same advice for Lopez that he says he gives to Macon:

“When you’re good, you’re going to get your chances. So (Lopez) shouldn’t feel too bad.”

Chaney said he tries not to be negative when counseling his star. “When he shoots well, I tell him about his misses. When he does poorly, I tell him how good he is.”

Macon scored a game-high 22 points. Doug Christie led the Waves with 15 points and Rick Welch, four for four from three-point range, added 14.

In the championship game, fourth-ranked Arizona (10-1) routed Iowa State, 102-77, and extended its nation-leading home-court winning streak to 54 games. Chris Mills led the Wildcats with 20 points, and Victor Alexander had 21 points for Iowa State (3-10). Mills, the former Fairfax High star, was voted the tournament’s most valuable player.