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NCAA Basketball Scoreboard: Recap

Recap | Box Score | Today's Scoreboard

Temple 75, Florida 54

Posted: Sunday March 18, 2001 06:51 PM

Temple Related Info: Team Page Conference Page City Page: • Philadelphia Message Boards: • Temple • Atlantic Ten

Florida Related Info: Team Page Conference Page City Page: • Gainesville Message Boards: • Florida • SEC

NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- After several players complained about the cold temperatures inside the Superdome during the opening round, NCAA Tournament officials had the heat turned up five degrees. As if Quincy Wadley needed to get hotter.

Wadley put on an offensive show in the first half as Temple built a commanding 20-point lead and advanced to the "Sweet 16" in the South Region with a 75-54 second-round pounding of 2000 national runner-up Florida.

A 6-4 senior, Wadley drilled four 3-pointers and scored 17 of his 24 points in the opening 20 minutes as the 11th-seeded Owls took control toward the end of the first half and cruised into the regional semifinals for the first time in three years.

"When Dean Smith was at North Carolina, they just re-fueld," said Temple coach John Chaney. "We don't have that luxury. I always tell our kids look at a coin; heads you win, tails you lose. You win with your head and lose with your butt." Wadley, who scored 26 points in a first-round upset of Texas, drilled all four of his first-half 3-pointers during the early stages of a closing 26-6 run that gave Temple (23-12) a 45-25 cushion at intermission.

"I was getting some open looks and my teammates did a good job of finding me," said Wadley. "It was just simple ball reversal." The third-seeded Gators (24-7), who fell to Michigan State in the national title game a season ago, did not score from the field in the final 10 1/2 minutes of the first half. Udonis Haslem made five free throws to account for all of their points during that span.

Wadley had 17 points during the decisive burst, including a jumper and a steal and layup that pushed Temple's advantage to 40-25. Alex Wesby drove for a layup and, inexplicably, Haslem fouled Lynn Greer as the junior was attempting a 3-pointer with nine-tenths of a second to go before halftime.

Greer made all three of his attempts at the line and the Owls raced to their locker room with the game all but decided.

Wadley also had 10 rebounds and Greer collected 20 points and nine assists for Temple, which will meet Penn State in the regional semifinals on Friday night in Atlanta.

"We knew we had a good team and could play with anybody in the country," said Greer. "I'm a little surprised by the amount we won." The Owls were outside of the NCAA's Field of 65 until winning the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament title and has now reeled off nine straight victories.

"We had a lot of ups and downs between transfers and injuries," Wadley said. "We struggled through them earlier but it built a strong character for this team and prepared us for this run. Because of that we are a better unit." Temple committed just nine turnovers, the 10th straight game it kept the miscue tally in single figures. The Owls are the first No. 11 seed to record double-digit victories in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament since Connecticut accomplished the feat in 1991.

Matt Bonner collected 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Gators, who were held seven below their previous season low for points by Temple's famed matchup zone. Florida shot just 36 percent (18-of-50) and was 8-of-29 from beyond the arc.

"Obviously, I'm very disappointed with the loss, but it's been an extremely rewarding year for me as a coach," said Florida's Billy Donovan. "I'm proud of our team, and I'm disappointed with the way we played today." Matt Bonner had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Brett Nelson scored 12 points on four 3-pointers for Florida.

The loss brings to an end a trying season for the Gators. After they reached last year's title game, underclassmen Mike Miller and Donnell Harvey departed for the NBA.

During the campaign, sophomore guard Justin Hamilton suffered a season-ending injury, forward Brent Wright dealt with a thumb injury and a foot problem that eventually knocked him out of the NCAA Tournament, and emotional leader Teddy Dupay missed a significant amount of action with a back injury after an early season suspension for violating team rules.

"We weren't executing on offense and that's why we lost," Nelson said.