Temple University Athletics
CHANEY GOES FOR WIN NUMBER 700 AGAINST ARCH-RIVAL UMASS IN A NATIONALLY-TELEVISED TILT ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON
1.23.04 | Men's Basketball
This meeting may not have the same allure as those great encounters, but the stakes are still high. Both squads harbor hopes of garnering second place in the A-10 East Divsion and the all-important bye in the A-10 Tournament that goes with it when they take the court at the Mullins Center on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. in front of a nationally-televised audience (ESPN2). Outside of #3 Saint Joseph's, which has all but clinched the regular season East title, the remaining five teams all have a shot at finishing second.
The game has even more significance than A-10 positioning as Chaney will be going for his 700th career coaching win. The Hall of Famer will become just the 16th coach in Division I history to reach the milestone.
UMass head coach Steve Lappas is looking to get his team back on the winning track. The Minutemen have lost seven in a row after opening the year at 5-3. Their most recent loss was a 92-69 defeat at Saint Joseph's on Wednesday night. Rashaun Freeman leads UMass, averaging 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
All-America candidate David Hawkins continues to lead Temple, averaging 23.4 points per game. In the team's win over Penn on Wednesday, he tied his career high with eight assists as teammates Mardy Collins (18 points) and Dustin Salisbery (11) stepped up offensively. The Owls also shot a season-high 44.4 percent in the contest.
