BRONX – #23/25 Temple won its first outright Atlantic 10 Championship since 1989-90, defeating host
Fordham, 80-60, Saturday afternoon in front of a sold-out Rose Hill Gym. The Owls won for the 13th time in their last 14 games to finish the regular season 24-6 and 13-3 in conference play. Fordham ends its season 10-19, 3-13.
Juan Fernandez, playing in front of a contingent of 26 family and friends from Argentina, led five double-figure scorers with 19 points. Ramone Moore added 16 points, six assists and a career-high-tying four steals while Khaif Wyatt extended his A10 best double-figure streak to 18 games with 10 points and a game-high seven assists.
Micheal Eric contributed 11 points with Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson adding 10 to round out the Owls’ double-figure scorers.
It marked the 16th time that four or more Temple players scored in double figures on the season and the thrid time five hit the mark.
Temple never trailed in the contest, scoring the first nine points of the contest to quiet the crowd there fir Senior Day festivities.
After Fordham cut the deficit to five, TU rolled off seven straight points, five by Moore, to take its largest advantage of the half, 25-13.
The Rams were not going quietly, as Brandon Frazier scored five of his 11 points in a 7-0 run to make it a four-point game, 34-30, with 1:27 remaining. The Owls, however, answered with the final six points of the half to take a comfortable 40-30 lead at the break.
Baskets by Eric and Hollis-Jefferson opened the second stanza, one that was thoroughly controlled by the Owls. The Rams did not get closer than eight the remainder of the contest as Temple shot a sizzling 60.7 percent (17-28) for the period.
Chris Gaston led the Rams with 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
The Owls, the top-seed in the A10 Tournament, now must wait for the winner of the #9-Duquesne at #8 UMass winner Tuesday to see who they will play at noon Friday (Comcast SportsNet/610 AM WIP) in the quarterfinals at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
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