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Duquesne defeats Temple, 78-66

PITTSBURGH - It took Temple nearly 12 minutes to make its first field goal Saturday, and by then, the final score was the only thing left in doubt.

Duquesne 's B.J. Monteire (23) looks to pass around Temple's Juan
Fernandez during Duquesne's 78-66 win. (AP Photo/John Heller)
Duquesne 's B.J. Monteire (23) looks to pass around Temple's Juan Fernandez during Duquesne's 78-66 win. (AP Photo/John Heller)Read more

PITTSBURGH - It took Temple nearly 12 minutes to make its first field goal Saturday, and by then, the final score was the only thing left in doubt.

Duquesne jumped out to a 20-point lead within the first 10 minutes and coasted the rest of the way in handing Temple its first Atlantic Ten loss of the season, 78-66, Saturday afternoon at the A.J. Palumbo Center.

After Duquesne's initial run, the Owls never pulled closer than within 10 points of the Dukes.

The loss snapped a three-game win streak for Temple (12-4, 3-1 A-10), which entered the game winner of four straight against the Dukes (11-5, 3-0).

Temple junior guard Ramone Moore, held scoreless in the first half after picking up three early fouls, led the Owls with 18 points.

The 12-point differential was Temple's largest margin of defeat this season; the Owls lost their first three by a combined 14 points.

Duquesne started the game with a 22-2 run as the Owls missed their first 14 attempts from the field.

"Twenty-two to two – that's a great statement," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "That's a great statement by Duquesne, and not much of a statement by us."

Temple's first field goal came with 8:18 remaining in the first half when sophomore guard Khalif Wyatt made a three-pointer from the wing that bounced around the rim and backboard before dropping into the net. The Dukes were 5 for 5 from the field and 4 for 4 from three-point range through the first 5:22 and made 12 of 18 shots in the first half.

"They came out and hopped on us," Wyatt said. "There's really no excuse for how we played in the first half of the game."

Temple pulled within 10 points of Duquesne late in the first half but never made a big enough run to make it any more competitive.

"Every timeout, let's say we pulled within 12, we kind of said, 'Let's take the lead down in bunches – let's take it to eight, four and then try and take the lead,' " Moore said. "Those guys came up and made big shots and didn't really allow us to cut into the lead."

Temple never cut the deficit to fewer than 12 points in the second half, despite several opportunities to make a run, Dunphy said.

"We had our chances to kind of fight back a little bit, but every time we came within sniffing a comeback, they stepped up and did what they needed to do," he said.

Temple junior guard Juan Fernandez saw his first action after missing two straight games since sustaining a bruised knee during a Jan. 7 practice. Playing with a knee brace, he scored eight points.

The Owls entered the game with the A-10's top scoring defense, allowing an average of 58.4 points per game. But the Dukes, owners of the conference's top offense (80.9), limited Temple to four first-half field goals and 30.9 percent from the field, the Owls' second-worst shooting performance of the season.

Duquesne's pressing, trapping defense also forced 16 turnovers.

"We went over the game strategy," said freshman guard Aaron Brown, who scored nine points. "But we just didn't come out as focused as we should have."

Duquesne coach Ron Everhart said his team, winner now of six straight, had been looking forward to Saturday's contest for weeks.

"It was a great win for our program, a great win for our kids," he said.

Duquesne senior forward Bill Clark had a game-high 22 points and was 10 for 10 from the free-throw line.