Temple University Athletics
MEN'S BASKETBALL BECOMES SIXTH PROGRAM IN NCAA DIVISION I HISTORY TO REACH 1,600 WINS WITH 99-77 VICTORY AT FORDHAM
2.23.03 | Men's Basketball
The victory was the Owls' seventh in their last nine games and moves TU one-half game ahead of Rhode Island (15-9, 7-6) for second place in the Atlantic 10 Conference East standings. Fordham has lost 12 consecutive games.
Temple has defeated Fordham in 17 consecutive meetings. John Chaney is a perfect 16-0 against the Rams in his 21 seasons on North Broad Street.
Juniors Brian Polk and David Hawkins each posted career-high scoring totals to lead five Owls in double digits. Polk shot 11-17 from the field and deposited six three-pointers en route to a game-high 30 points. Hawkins made 11 of 17 field goals attempts and six three's as well to register 29 points. Sophomore Hawley Smith had a season-high 10 points while Alex Wesby (13 points) and Maurice Collins (12 points) also posted double-figure totals.
A Hawkins' layup at 15:18 of the first half gave TU a 12-11 edge and the visitors led for the remainder of the contest. The Owls extended their lead to 17 points after a Polk layup before entering the locker room at the midpoint with a 45-30 advantage. Temple made 50 percent (19-38) of its first half shots while the Rams deposited 40.6 percent (13-32) of their field goal attempts.
After the break, the Owls went on a 16-7 run to open up a 61-37 lead with 14:42 remaining. The Owls lead never dipped below 17 points for the final 16 minutes of the contest and peaked at 30 points (96-66) after a Hawkins three-pointer with 3:41 on the clock.
Temple scored 38 points off of 22 Fordham turnovers and totaled 21 fast-break points to the Rams' six. The Owls finished the game shooting at a 51.3 percent (39-76) clip while registering a season-high 20 assists. Fordham shot 46.7 percent (28-60) on the afternoon.
Temple's 99 points was its most since defeating Duquesne 110-70 on Feb. 4, 1988.
The Owls return to the hardwood in a 7:00 p.m. contest versus Massachusetts at the Liacouras Center on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The game will not be televised. It marks the first since 1993 that a Temple-UMass regular season game will not be aired on national television. Nineteen straight Owl-Minutemen regular-season contests have been aired on national television over the past 10 years.
