Temple University Athletics
No. 20 Temple Downs Fordham 78-61 in A-10 Action
1.12.00 | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK (AP) - John Chaney walked into a room to meet the media Wednesday night after his 23rd-ranked Temple Owls had beaten Fordham
78-61. He sat down with a plate full of pickles in front of him after just having watched his team win for the third straight time with its two top players
back in the lineup from injuries.
Sounds like a setup for a happy man.
Remember, this is John Chaney.
"Man, nobody has one of those $14 corned beef sandwiches for me. This was not a good trip to New York," he said, scooping the pickles into cups
for the bus ride back to Philadelphia. "There's a difference in executing and playing well together."
Mark Karcher scored 20 points and Pepe Sanchez had a career-high 12 assists in what to most observers looked like a good Temple performance
as the Owls (9-3, 3-0 Atlantic 10) beat the Rams (7-8, 0-3) for the 10th consecutive time, a streak that dates to 1981.
"Coach is a tough coach. He's been at this for years," Karcher said. "He was mad that at the end of the game we didn't put them away and he's
right."
Karcher, who missed one game with a strained shoulder, had 12 of Temple's first 14 points. His 3-pointer started an 11-0 run that gave the Owls a
22-13 lead halfway through the first half and they were in control the rest of the way.
Karcher, the team's leading scorer at 15.6 points per game, had the first five points in the 11-2 run that gave Temple its biggest lead, 66-38 with 9:30
to play.
The closest Fordham got the rest of the way was 17 points three times, all over the final 1:18.
Sanchez, who missed eight games after severely spraining an ankle in the season opener, had just three points on 1-for-7 shooting, but that didn't
matter. He had nine assists in each of his first two games back and he bettered that against Fordham.
He had just one turnover and made six steals, just missing his averages of the previous two games.
"Coach demands perfection," Sanchez said. "I agree with him that we're not playing as well as we should. This is just our third game together and
Temple basketball has always been better in the second half of the season. I agree with him that we have to pass the ball better."
Sanchez said his wind has been fine since he came back and the only thing he feels behind on is his overall speed.
"It's getting there and I think I'll be OK after five or six games," he said.
Lynne Greer and Quincy Wadley had split the ball-handling duties in Sanchez's absence and Greer had 18 points against Fordham and Wadley added
16.
"Those two are happy on the farm," Chaney said of the two guards. "Quincy was so happy he was shooting from 30 feet. They're happy they don't
have to handle the ball any more and get yelled at like ballhandlers do. So I yell at Quincy anyway."
Alejandro Olivares had 16 points for the Rams, who have lost three straight - all in the conference - and four of five. Bevon Robin had 17 points and
Jason Harris had three on 1-for-9 shooting. Over his last four games Harris, the team's leading scorer at 17.4 points per game, was 10-for-37.
"When Jason doesn't make shots that means we search for points," first-year Fordham coach Bob Hill said. "It's been difficult for us to play both
ends of the floor. We have a tough time doing that in the Atlantic 10. I've coached three games in this league and the players are stronger and quicker
than we are and we have to put together a team that equals that. It's going to take a while."
