Temple tops Wagner to go to 5-0

With a lot of new faces, many of the current Temple Owls aren't into historical relevance.

But swingman Scootie Randall, a fifth-year senior, can appreciate what the Owls have accomplished.

With a less-than-stellar 70-62 victory over Wagner at the Liacouras Center on Saturday, Temple reached the 5-0 mark to open the season for the first time since the 1987-88 campaign. Back then, the Owls won the first 14 games en route to finishing 32-2 and reaching the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament.

"It's a big accomplishment for me knowing that in the beginning of the season Mark Macon used to come to our practice every day," Randall said of Macon, the standout freshman on that 1987-88 team. "Just knowing that we are accomplishing something that he did and want to continue to do, it means a lot to me personally."

Senior guard Khalif Wyatt scored seven of the Owls' final 12 points. He led all scorers with 26 points and had three assists and a steal in 34 minutes. Randall added 10 points and team highs of four assists and nine rebounds.

Wagner (2-4) held an edge in rebounding (42-30), points in the paint (30-24), bench points (25-16) and second-chance points (14-10).

Temple post player Anthony Lee was also ineffective due to playing with three fouls.

The 6-foot-9 redshirt sophomore finished with a season-low in points (four), rebounds (one) and minutes played (12). Lee picked up two quick fouls and only played three first-half minutes. The Maryland native averages 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds.

"I think they outworked us," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "They played harder. They played tougher. They played better than us. That's a disappointment. But, you know, we'll take the win.

"But I think they deserve a lot of credit, the Wagner guys."

Guard Kenneth Ortiz and forward Jonathon Williams scored 15 points apiece. Reserve guard Eric Fanning added 12 points.

The Seahawks pulled within six points (58-52) on Mario Moody's foul shot with 3 minutes left.

But Wyatt went on to the score Owls' next six points - on a jumper, a three-pointer and a foul shot - to give them a 64-55 advantage with 39.6 seconds left.

"Some games come down to people making big shots," Wyatt said. "I took them today and made a couple of them."