Temple defeats Duquesne, 78-59

When Temple superstar guard Ramone Moore struggles from the field - as he did Saturday - it isn't time for the Owls to revamp the game plan.

It's just time to highlight Khalif Wyatt and Juan Fernandez.

That's exactly what happened in Temple's 78-59 Atlantic Ten victory over Duquesne at the Liacouras Center.

And that's a bad omen for future opponents.

Wyatt and Fernandez combined to score 44 points in a game in which Moore, the conference's leading scorer, was held to a season-low three points on 1-for-6 shooting.

"That's the good thing about this team," Fernandez said. "Today it was us. Sometimes it's 'Mone.

"When you have so many options like that, it's hard for the other team to stop you."

The Owls (21-5, 10-2 A-10) haven't been stopped in a while. Saturday's win marked Temple's 10th straight victory since losing at Richmond on Jan. 14.

This ties the Owls' longest winning streak since posting 13 consecutive wins in 2000. Temple won 10 straight games in 2001. The Owls also took 10 consecutive victories into the 2010 NCAA tournament.

"You don't want to think too much about just your wins, but how you are playing," said Fernandez, noting Temple went on to lose in the first round of the 2010 NCAA tournament. "And I think the most important thing here is that we have to keep it going.

"We have momentum going into that last stretch. And we want to be the best team that we can be."

On Saturday, Temple shot 57.7 percent (30 for 52) from the field and 52.6 percent (10 for 19) on three-pointers against Duquesne (15-11, 6-6).

Wyatt led all scorers with 24 points. The junior also finished with five rebounds, three assists, a steal, and four turnovers.

Though Wyatt was the lead scorer, Fernandez was the most dominant player. The senior made 7 of 9 shots en route to scoring 20 points. Most of his damage came from three-point range (6 for 7).

Fernandez also had six assists. He now ranks seventh on Temple's all-time career list with 403.

Moore failed to score in double figures for the first time in 19 games. The A-10's scoring leader at 17.5 points was the high scorer for the Owls in the previous seven games.

Despite struggling from the field, Moore was still effective. The front-runner for the A-10 player of the year tied a career high with eight assists.

But from the start, it was obvious his backcourt mates would be too much for the Dukes.

Dominating play, Wyatt (15 points) and Fernandez (14) matched the Dukes' point total when Temple led 42-29 with 43 seconds left in the half.

Duquesne pulled within six points (50-44) with 13 minutes, 11 seconds remaining. But that was as close as it got.