Temple University Athletics
CHANEY REACHES 700 WIN MILESTONE AS OWLS TOP BONNIES, 76-57
1.28.04 | Men's Basketball
"I thought I would be a very old man when I reached (this milestone)," said Chaney to the appreciative home crowd on the public address microphone as 700 hundred Cherry & White balloons covered the floor after the game. "Tonight, you make me feel like a very young man. After all these years, I only see faces and I only see memories of the people that gave the energy and effort responsible for bringing me here. Thank you."
Chaney, in his 22nd season directing the Owls and 32nd year coaching overall, is one of just five active coaches to achieve the 700 victory plateau. New Mexico State's Lou Henson, Texas Tech's Bobby Knight, Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton and Arizona's Lute Olson have reached the milestone. Chaney's career coaching record stands at 700-278, with 475 wins coming at Temple (475-219) and 225 via Cheyney State (225-59).
Senior All-America candidate David Hawkins, who entered the game as the nation's seventh-leading scorer with a 23.3 points-per-game average, paced the Owls for the 14th time in 16 games, posting 21 points on seven-of-18 shooting. It marked the 11th straight game that he topped the 20-point mark and in the process passed St. Bonnies senior guard Marques Green (14 points) for the A-10 scoring lead. He was joined in double digits by teammates Mardy Collins (14), Nehemiah Ingram (career-high 14) and Antywane Robinson (10).
Despite the decisive final score, Temple's win did not come especially easy. Leading 37-24 early in the second half, Saint Bonaventure scored 15 of the contest's next 20 points with a Green three-pointer making it 42-39 with 13:31 remaining. The Owls answered with three free throws to increase their lead to six, but another Bonnies trey, this one courtesy of Patrick Lottin, reduced Temple's advantage to three again, 45-42, with 11:46 on the clock.
Temple (7-9, 2-4) answered the challenge loudly and definitively. A Hawkins 'three-pointer was followed by a highlight reel play by Salisbury, who, following an errant shot, provided a left-handed slam dunk to give the Owls a 50-42 lead and bring the crowd to its feet with 10:32 remaining in the contest. The Lancaster, Pa. native followed with a three-pointer and Hawkins proceeded to deposit consecutive treys of his own in the midst of a 14-2 run that increased the Owls lead to 15 points and ended any thought of a comeback.
Temple, on the heels of a 46.9 percent (15-32) second-half shooting performance, increased its advantage to 24 points twice in the late stages of the game.
The Owls generated 13 steals and contributed to 19 St. Bonaventure (6-11, 2-4) turnovers.
Temple controlled the first half both on the hardwood and on the stat sheet. After Green gave the Bonnies a 3-2 lead with a three-pointer as 18:28 showed on the clock, Collins answered with a trey to give the hosts a 5-3 edge. The Owls would not relinquish their advantage from that point forward. Temple ran its advantage to double digits on a Hawkins three-pointer that resulted in a 13-3 score and capped and 11-point Temple run with 14:35 remaining before the break. The Cherry & White's largest lead of the first half was 14 points, 24-10, after a pair of Hawkins free throws at 8:41.
The Owls entered the locker room at the midpoint with a 31-21 advantage courtesy of a balanced offensive effort that featured seven players listed in the scorebook. Hawkins led the Owls with eight points as Butler and Robinson each chipped-in six. Neither team performed well from the field in the first 20 minutes. Temple shot 36.1 percent (13-36) while St. Bonaventure deposited just 27.3 percent (6-22) of its attempts. The Bonnies committed 11 first half turnovers as the Owls generated eight steals.
Temple returns to the hardwood this Saturday, Jan. 31, in a 4:00 p.m. tip-off versus No. 3 Saint Joseph's, featuring National Player of the Year candidate Jameer Nelson, at the Liacouras Center. The undefeated Hawks (17-0, 7-0) are one of only two Division I schools (Stanford, 16-0) not to lose a game this season. The match-up will be televised on Comcast Sports Net. The contest will mark the 134th meeting between the schools with the Owls holding a 77-56 advantage. Saint Joseph's won both meetings last season.
