• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Moore, Brooks lead No. 20 Temple past Dayton

Feb 25, 2010 - 2:29 AM PHILADELPHIA(AP) -- As shots continued to clang off the rim, players and coaches on both sides could be seen grimacing.

It was that kind of night.

But in the end, Temple was still delirious because it was able to knock down a couple of key baskets down the stretch.

Ramone Moore scored 13 points, Ryan Brooks added 11 and No. 20 Temple held Dayton to its lowest point total in more than 13 years in a 49-41 victory on Wednesday.

"We're thrilled to get the win and move on," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said.

Lavoy Allen had nine points and 17 rebounds for the defensive-minded Owls (23-5, 11-2 Atlantic 10), who won their fourth straight to move into a first-place tie with Richmond in the conference.

Temple's Michael Eric was the only player on either team to shoot at least 50 percent from the field and he was 2 for 4.

"I'm not even sure what was going on," Allen said. "Everyone was missing."

Chris Wright had 12 points and 13 rebounds to lead Dayton (18-9, 7-6), which had won three straight against Temple. Rob Lowery added seven points as 11 players appeared in the game.

"We played a very good defensive team," Dayton coach Brian Gregory said. "Everything was contested and it was a very physical game."

Dayton, which entered averaging 70.3 points per game, had its lowest scoring output since a 59-38 loss to George Washington on Jan. 18, 1997. Dayton's lowest total this season came in a 56-55 win at George Mason on Dec. 8.

"We missed some shots we're capable of making," Gregory said. "We have to execute a little better and do a better job of finishing. At times, we rushed a little bit, but give them credit for that."

Temple entered the game ranked sixth nationally in scoring defense (57.8 points per game).

The Owls were ahead 25-22 early in the second half before scoring eight consecutive points to take an 11-point lead with 13:22 remaining.

Although Dayton kept missing shots, Lowery's 3-pointer cut the deficit to 42-38 with 1:32 to go.

Moore responded by hitting two free throws and Luis Guzman made one to stretch Temple's lead to seven with 51.8 seconds left.

Lowery made another 3 about 12 seconds later, but Brooks made a free throw and then scored on a fastbreak layup after a steal to restore the Owls' seven-point margin.

While the win wasn't pretty, it was a win nonetheless.

"We don't really mind winning this way," said Moore, who scored in double figures for the seventh straight game. "Guys were missing shots, but we'll take it."

Temple pulled out the win despite going more than 9 minutes without a field goal after Moore scored with 9:36 left.

The Flyers shot just 26 percent (15-for-57).

Both teams were plagued by poor shooting in the first half in which the Owls led just 19-13.

Dayton missed 19 of its first 22 shots and wound up 5 for 31 en route to its lowest point total in a half this season.

Temple, meanwhile, wasn't much better with a 9-for-31 effort, including 1 for 9 on 3s.

The Owls held a 15-4 lead nearly 12 minutes into the first half and limited the Flyers to single digits until Wright made two free throws with 2:27 remaining to pull to 19-11.