Karcher, Owls Fly High Over Cleveland State 79-66

CLEVELAND (AP) - Mark Karcher made five 3-pointers and scored 24 points Monday night before leaving with a shoulder injury to lead No. 17

Temple to a 79-66 win over Cleveland State in a reunion of old coaching adversaries John Chaney and Rollie Massimino.

Karcher made two 3s in a 15-0 run in the second half for the Owls (6-2), who won their fourth straight game despite forcing some jumpers and making

just 44 percent of their field-goal attempts.

The victory gave Temple's Chaney a 7-5 lead in head-to-head matchups against Massimino. The two hadn't faced each other since Feb. 1, 1992,

when Massimino was at Villanova.

Late in the game, Chaney had words with a fan sitting behind the Temple bench and had to be calmed down by Owls assistant coach Dean

Demopolous.

But as the final seconds ticked down, Chaney walked to halfcourt to share a hug and laugh with Massimino, whom he sometimes butted heads with

when the two fought for Philadelphia's college basketball bragging rights.

James Madison had 16 points and Damon Stringer 14 to lead Cleveland State (5-6), which led 48-47 with 11:36 left before going cold from the field.

The Vikings, whose 2-3 zone defense gave Temple problems, missed five straight shots and nine of 11 as the Owls ran off 15 straight points to pull

away.

Lynn Greer added 19 points for Temple, which made 11 of 31 3-point attempts. The Owls didn't attempt a free throw in the first half but finished 20

of 26 from the line as the Vikings were forced to foul late.

Temple played its seventh game without senior point guard Pepe Sanchez, who sprained his right ankle in the season opener against Miami, Ohio.

Now the Owls could be without Karcher, who suffered an unspecified shoulder injury late in the game after a collision at midcourt with Vikings guard

Doc Taylor. Karcher was taken to the hospital after the game for X-rays, accompanied by Chaney.

But Karcher had already done his damage by the time he was helped to the locker room with 1:38 left.

Greer's third 3-pointer with 10:10 remaining gave the Owls a 50-48 lead, and following Cleveland State's miss, Karcher hit his fourth trey to give

Temple its biggest lead since the first half.

Stringer misfired on the Vikings' next trip, and Karcher came up with a loose ball rebound before Lyde banked in a jumper from the foul line to put

Temple up 55-48.

Karcher drilled another 3 and Lyde closed the 15-0 spurt with a strong two-handed dunk with 6:03 left.

Temple University Athletics