COLLINS TAKES OVER TO LEAD MEN'S BASKETBALL TO 75-57 WIN AT GEORGETOWN

WASHINGTON, DC -- It is official.  The Temple Owls are Mardy Collins' team!! It only took two games for the transformation to be complete, but with former captain and leading scorer David Hawkins watching from the stands, Collins single-handily dismantled a young Georgetown team on the road, giving Temple its first win of the season, 75-57, Monday night at the MCI Center.

"It was real important (to get a win) because we did not want to get off to an 0-2 start," said the Owl co-captain.  "After the (Auburn) game, the guys wanted to get back out there on the court.  It was good for us to get out there and get our confidence back."

Collins, who dished a career-high nine assists in the team's opening loss to Auburn, was nearly flawless in running the Temple offense tonight.  He scored a game-high 22 points, hitting all five of his three-point attempts and eight-of-13 overall from the field.  His floor game was equally as strong as he dished seven assists, his second best single-game total, against just two turnovers.  He also added five rebounds, a steal and even took a charge.

And he almost pleased his Hall of Fame coach.

"I do not think a point guard should be shooting the basketball as much as he shot it tonight," said Temple coach John Chaney, a former point guard.  "But evidently he felt good about it and he hit shots.  We as coaches do not cry when the ball goes in. 

"So I was hoping he would miss it so I could give him some hell," he laughed.

"He always says in practice I can not shoot," said Collins when hearing his coach's jibe.  "I got into a nice groove and it continued throughout the game."

Chaney did not know what to expect from Georgetown as it was the first game for new head coach John Thompson III.  The Hoyas, however, knew a little about the Owls, and hit three three-pointers in the games first six minutes to take an early 11-10 lead.

After the teams traded baskets, Collins drained a three to give Temple a 15-13 advantage with 12:31 on the clock.  The Owls would never look back.

The Cherry and White extended the margin to seven points twice, before the Hoyas cut the margin to two, 27-25, on a trey by Brandon Bowman (12 points) with 2:55 to play in the half.

The Owls then ran off 11 unanswered points to take a commanding 38-25 lead into the locker room. Collins started the run with a three, and long treys by sophomore Dustin Salisbery and Dion Dacons ended the run.  Dacons' three-pointer, which came from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded, was his first attempt behind the arc of his career.

Unlike the Auburn game, the Owls not only did not relinquish the lead, they built upon it.  Sophomore Wayne Marshall led the way in the second half, scoring 10 of his 16 points in the stanza.  Six of his points came in the first 10 minutes when Temple pushed the margin to 21 points, 60-39, at the 10:24 mark.  The lead would grow to 25 points, 70-45, with just under six to play.  Temple put the ball in deep freeze the remainder of the game.

"I made a mistake in the first ball game," explained Chaney.  "Making substitutions to please kids' families, who had come along way to see them play. I could not sleep...I never coached that way in my life.  Especially early in the season when you are trying to get some rhythm out of five (players), and then you build six and then seven.  When you try to be pleasing and be a good guy to everybody on the team it is a big failure.

Chaney also added high praise for his Marshall, who showed a soft touch around the basket, hitting seven-of-14 shots from the field.  He also grabbed seven boards over 38 minutes of work.

"Marshall is perhaps the best big man that I have ever had, bar none," extolled Chaney.  "The kid can shoot and he is smart.  You do not have to tell him something twice.  And he plays very well with Mark (Tyndale).  He makes a big difference in this ballclub."

Tyndale, who also received kudos from Chaney in his postgame remarks, tallied nine points despite struggling from the field (3-of-12).  He did contribute a strong all-around outing with three rebounds, three assists and a game-high three steals.

The Owls other co-captain, Antywane Robinson, had a big game as well.  Playing in front of his father, who is home for the holiday from his tour of duty in Iraq, the 6-8 forward tallied nine points, grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and dished four assists.

Salisbery, who scored 19 against Auburn, contributed nine off the bench while junior center Keith Butler added six points, seven boards and two blocks.

The Owls balanced attack has led to two straight 70-plus outings to start the season.  The last time that happened at Temple was the 1992-93 campaign.

Now the team travels to South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks this Saturday (5:00 p.m./WPHT 1210 AM).

Temple University Athletics

COLLINS TAKES OVER TO LEAD MEN'S BASKETBALL TO 75-57 WIN AT GEORGETOWN

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