Temple University Athletics
Owls Down Virginia Tech in Second Round of A-10 Tourney
3.9.00 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA (AP) (March 9)-- John Chaney doesn't care that Temple hasn't won
the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament since 1990. Losing, he said, might
even be a
good thing.
But the No. 6 Owls looked far less charitable than their coach on
Thursday, beginning their quest for an A-10 title with a 71-52 victory
against Virginia Tech.
``I know what coach said, but I still want to win and I want us to have
momentum going into the tournament,'' said Quincy Wadley, who scored
eight points.
Mark Karcher scored 17 points and Pepe Sanchez added nine points and
five assists to lead Temple (24-5) into the semifinals against
Massachusetts or George
Washington.
``Don't look at us as if we haven't done anything or been anywhere,''
Chaney said. ``How many times have we won this tournament before? Five.
How many
teams have been to the final eight as many times as Temple?''
Temple, which has reached the final eight four times in the last 12
years, lost 62-59 at the buzzer to Rhode Island in the A-10 championship
last year. It's a
lowpoint his players remember all too well, and want to erase from
their minds this year.
``Last year really hurt,'' Karcher said. ``I want to win. We all want
to win.''
The Owls are virtually assured a berth in the NCAA tournament, so
Chaney said it couldn't hurt for another team to win the title and its
accompanying automatic
bid.
``What's important this time of year is to be making progress,'' he
said.
Virginia Tech (16-15) stayed close early as Brendon Dunlop hit two
3-pointers, but the Owls used two 9-0 runs to open a 33-17 lead late in
the first half and
never were threatened.
The Hokies, again playing without suspended scoring and rebounding
leader Dennis Mims, trailed 36-22 at halftime and got no closer than 11
in the second half.
Mims, who averaged 14.2 points and 7.6 rebounds and made 52.6 percent
of his shots during the season, was suspended before the tournament for
violating
unspecified team rules and did not accompany the team to Philadelphia.
Sanchez was 3-for-3 from 3-point range, including a baseline jumper
that gave Temple a 57-36 lead with 8:30 remaining. Sanchez added five
rebounds, three
steals and only one turnover.
``I try to do all the little things that make a player valuable,''
Sanchez said. ``It's a trade off for running the team, being an
extension of my coach.''
Temple, 9-0 against Virginia Tech, attempted 27 3-pointers, including
15 on its 25 shots in the first half. The Owls hit 10. Virginia Tech was
8-of-23 from 3-point
range.
``I thought they shot the ball well all day, and from the perimeter
too,'' Hokies coach Ricky Stokes said. ``They're really tough on the
boards.''
Brian Chase led the Hokies with 16 points and Dunlop added 12.
``It seems like they had more than five guys out there,'' Chase said
after struggling against Temple's matchup zone, committing five
turnovers with one assist.
The game marked the last time Virginia Tech would compete in the
Atlantic 10. The Hokies will play in the Big East conference next
season.
``It's nice to beat a team that's leaving,'' Chaney said. ``You don't
want to lose to them.''
