January 24, 2009 by John Lamb | A10CollegeHoops

PHILADELPHIA – For the second game in a row the Temple Owls showed that they do not need their senior All-America candidate to be on top of his game for them to win.

The Owls (11-7, 3-1 A10) cruised to an 80-53 victory over the visiting Charlotte 49ers (6-12, 1-4) on Saturday night thanks to 19 points from senior guard Semaj Inge. He tied a career high that was set earlier this season at Penn State.

Inge was efficient from the floor as he shot 8-for-12. He also hit a career-high three three-pointers. The guard credited freshman Juan Fernandez for his success.

“The first Juan came over and played with us I just thought he was an outstanding passer so I just knew if I found those spots that I could get myself the ball I knew he would get it to me,” said Inge, who came into the night averaging just 6.5 points per game.

Dionte Christmas, who scored only eight points before being pulled from Temple’s 65-40 victory over the Saint Louis Billikens due to a cut over his eye, was not his normal self. He scored 12 points but missed five of his seven three-pointers and eight shots overall.

Still, it was evident from the outset that the 49ers were focusing their defensive efforts towards Christmas and Ryan Brooks. This allowed Inge to step up and deliver a big-time effort for the Owls.

“It looked like they were trying to hedge their defense towards Dionte and Ryan Brooks and it left Semaj open and he certainly knocked it out,” said Fran Dunphy, who guided the Owls to the 1,700th win in the program’s history.

Sophomore forward Lavoy Allen had another complete game for the Cherry and White. He put together the fifth double-double of the season – and the sixth of his young career – with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Allen also tied a career high with four blocks.

Fernandez once again drew oohs and aahs from the 5,700 in attendance. He dished out four assists but also committed three turnovers. To his defense, two of them were passes that should have been pulled in by his teammates. Dunphy, however, would like Fernandez to make plays without trying to impress everybody.

“I’d like him to get rid of the ’style point’ idea,” said Dunphy. “As coach Chaney and I have discussed, Pepe [Sanchez] did the same thing when he first got in there and Coach Chaney said he had to cure him of it so I’ll try my best to cure Juan of it. The spectacular will come when your as solid as you can possibly be.”

Brooks added 11 points and six rebounds. Senior co-captain Sergio Olmos played his best game since the Owls upset of Tennessee in December. He scored six points and picked up an assist in just 13 minutes on the floor.

The 49ers looked unmotivated from the start, which was surprising considering they came into the game on a high note after an impressive 69-64 overtime victory against the University of Massachusetts Minutemen on Wednesday night. Their only lead of the night came when DiJuan Harris hit a free throw to make it 1-0 with 17:50 left in the first half.

The Owls outscored Charlotte 43-16 from that point on to take a 26 point lead into the locker room at the half. Dunphy was impressed with the way his defense played the first 20 minutes of the game.

“We talk about that a lot as a group how we have to hang out hat on our defensive play because some nights you are going to come out and knock it out like we did on Thursday and we weren’t shooting it very well tonight,” said Dunphy. “I thought we had some decent looks but the ball didn’t go down. I was pleased about how we guarded, especially in the first half.”

Lamont Mack had an off night for Charlotte as he scored 12 points on just 3-of-15 shooting. He did pull down a team-high nine rebounds. Phil Jones led the 49ers in scoring with 14 points, one point under the career high mark he set against Tulsa earlier this season.

This game had some extra meaning for the Owls as the legendary John Chaney, who collected 516 wins and 17 NCAA appearances in his 24 years patrolling the sidelines on North Broad Street, was inducted into the Temple Hall of Fame in a ceremony before the game.

His successor on the sidelines had nothing book good things to say about Chaney after the game.

“He has an aura about the city of Philadelphia,” said Dunphy. “I went over the the receptions earlier today and listened to other people talk about him whether it was Governor Rendell or Peter Liacouras. He is revered around here and should be. For him to be inducted into the Temple Hall of Fame – it probably would’ve come long before this if he would’ve accepted it but knowing him he probably didn’t want to hear about it. He is a great man and as I have said to a couple of different people he has done so much for so many that you are never going to hear about and I think that is the quality of his person.

Both teams will be back in action on Wednesday as Charlotte will travel to Cincinnati to take on Xavier and the Owls will head north play the University of Rhode Island.

POSTGAME AUDIO: (right click and save as… if you have trouble opening files)
Ryan Brooks and Semaj Inge Post Game Audio
Fran Dunphy Post Game Press Conference

John Lamb can be reached at johnlamb@a10collegehoops.com