• Recap
• Bleachers

Temple crushes La Salle in A-10 quarters

Mar 12, 2011 - 4:17 AM Atlantic City, NJ (Sports Network) - Ramone Moore scored 23 points to lead the 24th-ranked Temple Owls to a 96-76 victory over the La Salle Explorers in the quarterfinal round of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.

Khalif Wyatt tallied 20 points for second-seeded Temple (25-6), which advances to the semifinal round to take on third-seeded Richmond.

"A lot of top teams have fallen in a tournament, and I told the guys we don't want that to be us, so we've got to come out and focus and get a victory," Moore said. "And La Salle is a tough team. I don't think they gave up the whole game so it was a tough victory but I'm glad we got it and are moving to the next round."

Aaric Murray posted 22 points and 11 rebounds in defeat for 10th-seeded La Salle (15-18), which also received 17 points from Ruben Guillandeaux.

"I don't think we played very well at all, 15 turnovers in the first half and the fact that we just couldn't stop them, as 96 points shows, are two huge problems," La Salle coach John Giannini said. "So it's disappointing to end the season on a game you don't feel good about, but Temple had an awful lot to do with that."

La Salle held an early 9-8 edge, but the Explorers committed 15 turnovers in the first half, enabling Temple to lead 42-32 at intermission.

The Owls, who are the three-time defending champs of this event, dominated the second half en route to their 10th straight victory in the A-10 Tournament.

Temple's Juan Fernandez hit a three-pointer with 11:41 remaining in regulation and was fouled in the act. Fernandez knocked down the ensuing free throw, giving the Owls a 67-52 advantage, and they led by double figures the rest of the way.

La Salle finished the game with a 31-26 rebounding advantage and shot 53.4 percent from the field, including 8-of-16 from three-point range. Unfortunately for the Explorers, they couldn't overcome 22 giveaways which led directly to 24 points for the Owls.

As for Temple, which earned a 16-6 edge in points from the foul line, it shot 52.2 percent from the floor, including 10-of-19 from behind the arc. The Owls committed just six turnovers, another obvious key to victory.

Game Notes

Temple and La Salle met in the regular season finale on March 5th, and the Owls won that contest by an 90-82 final...Fernandez finished with 19 points, while Lavoy Allen and Aaron Brown pitched in 14 points apiece for Temple...Allen also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds...The Owls have won nine A-10 championships, more than any other member of the league...La Salle got 14 points from Tyreek Duren and 11 points from Jerrell Williams...The Explorers have never won the A-10 Tournament.