Temple cruises past Charlotte, 79-57

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Temple Owls raced to a 20-point halftime lead and coasted to a 79-57 victory against host Charlotte in Atlantic Ten Conference basketball action Wednesday night at Halton Arena.

Ramone Moore had 18 points, and sophomore guard Aaron Brown continued his stellar play off the bench, chipping in with 16, as the Owls started the game on a 17-1 run and never allowed the 49ers closer than 14 the rest of the way.

Khalif Wyatt and Juan Fernandez also hit double figures for Temple, with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Javarris Barnett's 14 points led Charlotte.

The victory was the first win in five trips to Halton Arena for Temple coach Fran Dunphy's club, which improved to 14-5 overall and 3-2 in the Atlantic Ten. Charlotte fell to 10-9, 2-4.

A stingy defense keyed the early run, as the Owls held Charlotte without a field goal for the game's first 10 minutes, 20 seconds.

As the hosts were misfiring on their first 11 shots from the field, the Owls were getting open looks on nearly every possession against Charlotte's 2-3 zone defense, connecting on seven three-pointers in the first half and converting Charlotte turnovers into easy buckets.

The 49ers were without two key players: Freshman point guard Pierria Henry, who had started the team's first 18 games and ranked fifth in the nation averaging three steals per game, was out with a sprained ligament in his left knee. Junior forward KJ Sherrill was suspended for undisclosed reasons.

The absence of Henry, in particular, seemed to affect Charlotte, which seemed out of synch most of the game without its floor general.

Charlotte opened the second half with a mini-run that cut its 38-18 halftime deficit to 40-25. But the Owls responded immediately, going on a 9-0 spurt of their own. Temple led by as many as 33 points late in the second half.

The Owls shot 55 percent for the game, getting assists on 20 of their 29 field goals.