NEWARK, Del. - Temple opened its basketball season Sunday against a Delaware squad the Owls had met only once since 1981-82.
No doubt, Temple enjoyed the reunion much more than the host Blue Hens.
The Owls clamped down defensively from the beginning and had no trouble registering a 76-56 non-league victory in front of 3,080 spectators at the Bob Carpenter Center.
The Owls - playing for the first time in four years without departed shooter Dionte Christmas - were led in scoring by guard Ryan Brooks (23 points). Point guard Juan Fernandez finished with 14 points and five assists, and 6-foot-9 forward Lavoy Allen came up with nine points and 15 rebounds.
Delaware, a Colonial Athletic Association squad that finished 13-19 last winter, was down by 19 points at the break after going 7-for-28 from the floor against Temple's sticky man-to-man.
"I thought it was solid," Owls coach Fran Dunphy said of his team's effort at the defensive end. "We had a decent game plan going in. I was pleased with our defense overall."
Delaware guard Jawan Carter, who is the Blue Hens leading returning scorer after averaging 15.0 points last season, was his team's lone double-figures scorer with 17 yesterday. Carter's backcourt mate, Alphonso Dawson (nine points) was Delaware's only other holdover starter since point guard Brian Johnson went down in August with a knee injury.
The Blue Hens got no closer than 20 points during the second half.
"It was time to see a different color uniform, and everybody was very excited for this game," Brooks said. "It showed in our energy to start the game."
Temple opened with a three-guard offense that included Brooks, Fernandez and Luis Guzman. Allen and Michael Eric started up front. Dunphy kept it tight with an eight-man rotation - guard Ramone Moore, and forwards Craig Williams and Rahir Jefferson also played - as the Owls took control of the game during the first 20 minutes.
After Delaware jumped in front, 5-0, the Blue Hens went through a five-minute period where they did not score as the Owls took care of business defensively. Both Guzman and Fernandez drew charging fouls during the first seven minutes as Temple gave Delaware nothing easy.
The Blue Hens didn't even get to the free throw line until 8:23 was left in the half.
Temple took the lead at 7-5 on a three-point jumper by Brooks, and the Owls continued to make the most of their possessions. They were up, 35-16, with less than three minutes to go in the first half.
Jefferson, a 6-7 freshman from Chester High, scored the first points of his college career by making one of two free throws. And he later hit a jumper from the circle with under 10 seconds remaining to give the Owls a 40-19 advantage at the break.
Notes. Williams went down about midway through the second half with what appeared to be a problem with his right knee. It was termed a mild knee sprain, and he did not return. . . . Temple will visit Georgetown on Tuesday.
Contact staff writer Kevin Tatum at (215) 854-2583 or ktatum@phillynews.com.
