Moore's second-half spark lifts Temple over St. Bonaventure

OLEAN, N.Y. - Ramone Moore emerged from halftime determined. Temple followed his lead.

The senior guard scored each of his 19 points in the second half as the Owls first pulled away and then held off St. Bonaventure for a 76-70 victory last night in front of 4,169 at the Reilly Center.

Fellow guards Khalif Wyatt and Juan Fernandez added 17 and 16 points, respectively, for Temple (20-5, 9-2 Atlantic 10), which maintained its position atop the conference with its ninth straight victory.

Moore, the A-10's leading scorer, at 18.8 points per game, shook off a forgettable first 20 minutes in which he went 0-for-2 from the field and played only 9 minutes because of foul trouble. Not surprising, Temple went into halftime trailing by a point, 31-30.

Moore scored six quick points out of halftime, connecting on a turnaround jumper and converting two layups off Temple steals to kick-start the Owls. The guard also keyed a 15-3 run with a driving scoop shot, a three-pointer from the wing, and an assist to T.J. DiLeo for a lay-in.

"I can't say I'm overly surprised, because I know his mindset and I know his mentality toward the game," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said of Moore. "I knew he would get into a rhythm, and he certainly did."

The Owls led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but the game became tense at the end as St. Bonaventure (13-10, 6-5) rallied to cut the deficit to 72-69 with 23 seconds left on a Demetrius Conger put-back.

Moore came to the rescue, knocking in four straight free throws to seal Temple's 14th straight win in the series.

Andrew Nicholson scored 19 points to lead the Bonnies, who had their eight-game home winning streak snapped.

"We feel very, very fortunate to come here in this environment, and to get out with a win, we're thrilled," Dunphy said.

The Owls certainly had their hands full in the first half.

Temple went the final 6:56 of the half without a field goal. Forward Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson (11 points) had nine to lead the Owls in the first half as Moore sat for most of the final 8 minutes.

"He's somebody we need on the court," Dunphy said. "We were just hoping not to be down too much at the end of the first half."

The Bonnies scored 11 straight points during a 3-minute span near the end of the first half to erase a seven-point deficit. Eric Mosley (18 points) canned three three-pointers to help St. Bonaventure gain the halftime lead.

Temple, which clinched its fifth straight 20-win season, is 17-2 in February since the start of the 2009-10 season.