Temple-St. Joe's - The Hawk (Will Never?) Die

Was among crowd of over 10,000 this afternoon to watch the Owls' 9th straight victory over the Hapless Hawks. After a 2-0 lead, it was literally and figuratively downhill and six feet under for the Hawk from there, as Temple led by 12 at half, 16 on a few occasions and won handily by 14. Special mentions to Lavoy Allen who surpassed the legendary John Baum in total rebounds, the HOF inductees (Eddie, Aaron and Rick honored at half) and student section for their creativity in rollouts (five stages of grief for St. Joseph's, see video below), T-shirts (RIP Hawk) and rousing renditions of I Believe ending with the Hawk is dead. Four players in double figures, led by Moore (17) and with Wyatt finishing one short with 9. We enjoyed an Owl win but admit a bit of wistfulness and sadness for the passing of the Hawk and for the sorry state of the Hawks. Enough of that. Bring on the Cameron Crazies and the Blue Devils.

guest post by Jimmy C

Post-game Cherry and White gathering of Chronicowls commenters and readers

Temple-Rhode Island (Call for Comments)

I won't be attending this game (which also features Hooter's Birthday Party) so I invite those of you at the game to post your comments below.

Temple basketball fans (and occasional commenters and bloggers) at the Pub Webb celebrating the win over Rhode Island.

Chronicowls '11, Post 10 (Temple-LaSalle)

There must not be  many  Division 1 college basketball facilities like Gola Arena.  The fans enter at court level. Walked in yesterday, several minutes before tip-off, and found myself shoulder-to-shoulder with Temple cheerleaders. And just several feet away, Temple players were in a layup drill.
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Another slow start for the Owls, who went the first seven minutes of the game without a basket. They were fortunate to be behind only 10-5 when Fernandez made a three-pointer for that first basket.  Then, LaSalle scored but 4 points in the final seven minutes of the half, and the Owls outscored LaSalle 16-4 to take a 9-point halftime lead. Twelve Explorer turnovers in the first half helped the Owls keep it close until Khalif Wyatt  took control of the game. In the final nine minutes of the half, Wyatt scored as many points (11) as did the Explorers.  

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For stretches of the game, Lavoy Allen seemed absent. But his final stats of 14 points and 7 rebounds suggest a solid, if not spectacular game. And congratulations to Allen, who became only the fifth temple player to nab 1000 rebounds in his career. Before the season is finished, Allen is sure to become the Owls’ all-time leading rebounder.

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Congratulations, also, to Coach Dunphy, who earned his 100^th win at Temple.

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LaSalle places high value upon its band. Where else can one find the pep band in the first few rows right at midcourt? But what’s with the cowbell?

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Question: does a steal count as a turnover against the team from whom the ball was stolen?

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Five Temple turnovers in the final 100 seconds of the game left the outcome unsettled.

The oddsmakers’ spread was 6.  A Lasalle basket in the final second of the game meant that the Explorers beat the spread.  Right on the mark again. Uncanny.

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McMenamin's (in Mt. Airy) was the choice for post-game gustatory delights. Plenty of college and pro basketball on the TVs, but the one that caught my eye was replaying Liverpool's Premier League match from earlier in the day.