Say what you want about Penn's undefeated romp through the Ivies, or Saint Joseph's pristine record in the city series.
On a Friday that saw their more celebrated Big 5 brethren ousted in a pair of first round NCAA tournament games, the indefatigable Temple Owls kept on rolling. The Cherry and White have won more postseason games than any other team in the city, and they're not done yet.
Propelled by savvy guard David Hawkins -- who poured in a career-high 36 points on 11-for-16 shooting -- the late-blooming Owls clipped the Boston College Eagles, 75-62, in the first round of National Invitational Tournament at the Palestra.
Now, as unlikely as it may seem, the Owls (17-15, 10-6 Atlantic 10) stand three wins away from a 20-win season -- which would be Hall of Fame coach John Chaney's 16th at the school -- and the program's third NIT championship. They travel to Kingston, R.I., Tuesday to face conference rival Rhode Island, a team they twice bested during the regular season.
This year has been, arguably, Chaney's most difficult on North Broad Street. For the first time in his Hall of Fame career, he started three freshmen. Many questioned whether or not the Owls would even finish above .500, let alone qualify for postseason play.
But Friday night, a crowd of 3,037 witnessed the venerable coach's finished product: a confident, capable Owls unit--one that scarcely resembles the green and untried team that stumbled to a 3-11 start.
Behind their guard play, Temple jumped out to an early lead. Back-to-back threes by juniors Brian Polk and Hawkins opened an 18-9 lead at the 14:04 mark of the first half.
In response, the Eagles (19-12, 10-6 Big East) repeatedly attacked Chaney's vaunted matchup zone defense. With star guard Troy Bell coming up cold, forwards Ryan Sidney and Craig Smith carried the load. The tandem combined for 19 of Boston College's 35 first half points, closing the Temple advantage to 36-35 at halftime.
As a team, the Owls did a masterful job of corralling Bell, the Big East Player of the Year and a second team All-American. The gifted senior shot 5-for-19 on the night, scoring a quiet 15 points and prompting chants of "OV-ER-RAT-ED" from the pro-Temple crowd.
The Eagles made an extended push after the break, capitalizing on ill-advised shot selection by the Owls. The freshman Smith scored 10 of his team's first 16 points of the half as the Eagles took the lead briefly. But as the second half wore on, Temple's defense clamped down. They actively clogged the passing lanes, creating chaos on the perimeter and forcing the Eagles into 10 second half turnovers. They had 16 on the night.
Hawkins, who added seven rebounds and four steals, has played all 40 minutes in five straight games, and seven of Temple's last eight contests. He was 10-for-11 from the line, and his clutch foul shooting helped seal the victory.
"I think he's the best foul shooter we have on the team, and he's shown that all year," Chaney said. "And that's one of the reasons we try to get him the ball when someone's pressing us."
Down the stretch, Temple was virtually flawless. They outscored the Eagles, 25-11, over the last 11 minutes, making timely defensive stops and shooting 9-for-11 from the line.
In one memorable series, as Bell attacked the basket with a 2-on-1 advantage, a brilliant interception by Maurice Collins led to a Hawkins' three-point play which put the Owls up, 62-55, at the 3:12 mark.
Hawkins' tomahawk dunk with 38.8 seconds remaining closed out the scoring and put an exclamation point on a thorough Temple victory.
"I thought he was out of control again," Chaney, ever the teacher, said of Hawkins. "For the most part he came through with some big plays for us at the right time."
When asked if he'd ever thought that these young Owls would be the last Big 5 school actively playing, Chaney was to the point.
"No," he said, allowing a wry smile. "I had my bags packed."
