No one took any cheap shots or was called a goon. St. Joseph’s and Temple made this one memorable because of a thrilling finish.
Abdulai Jalloh forced a shot in traffic from the left side, but Rob Ferguson grabbed the air ball and put it back with 2.2 seconds left to give the Hawks (6-5, 1-1 Atlantic 10) a 59-57 win Sunday over the Owls (6-6, 0-2) at the Palestra.
“It was a hell of a game,” Temple coach John Chaney said. “Both teams played well, played extremely well.”
There was no sign of any carry-over from either school in their first matchup since last year’s infamous game when Chaney sent in Nehemiah Ingram to commit hard fouls that resulted in a broken arm for St. Joseph’s John Bryant.
Chaney used the reserve to “send a message” to a Hawks team he believed was using illegal screens and referred to his player as a “goon.” Chaney was suspended for five games.
Rules changes
The NCAA would scrap a rule prohibiting men’s and women’s teams from playing in more than two exempt tournaments in a four-year period under a compromise reached by the Division I Management Council.
Under the plan the two-in-four rule would be eliminated and schools would be allowed to participate in an event each year.
SUNDAY’S GAMES
RESULTS, SYNOPSIS
#1 Duke 82 at #23 W. Forest 64
J.J. Redick scored 32 to help Blue Devils (14-0, 2-0 ACC) remain 1 of only 3 unbeaten teams in Division I. Eric Williams, Justin Gray scored 17 each for Demon Deacons (11-3, 0-1).
#24 W. Virginia 91 at #3 Villanova 87
Joe Herber scored 23, Kevin Pittsnogle 22 and Mountaineers (10-3, 2-0 Big East) handed Wildcats (10-1, 1-1) 1st loss. Randy Foye had 24 pts and Mike Nardi 23 for Villanova.
Winthrop 63 at #4 Memphis 73
Rodney Carney had 21 pts and Darius Washington scored 7 of his 14 during key stretch to help Tigers (13-2) hold off Eagles (7-4) for 2nd straight win after loss to Texas last week.
#11 Boston Coll. 58 at Georgia Tech 60
Zam Fredrick hit tiebreaking 3-ptr with :33.5 left and Yellow Jackets (8-4, 2-0 ACC) edged Eagles (11-3, 0-2), who went more than 11 mins without FG and struggled from outside.
Bradley 55 at S. Illinois 67
Tony Young scored 30 and Salukis (11-3, 4-0 MVC) pulled away from 2-pt halftime lead to beat Braves (8-5, 2-3). Marcellus Sommervile and Tony Bennett had 11 pts each for Bradley.
