Bob Ford: Temple's Clark right in step with March

College basketball, fortunately enough for the Temple Owls, is not about where you are in November and December.

The game is all about March, and this March finds Temple playing its best basketball of the season - in fact, its best basketball in a few seasons.

If you would like a walking metaphor for the value of sticking around, working through the bad times, and believing that March can bring something great, Temple point guard Chris Clark is a handy example.

Clark led the Owls with 22 points yesterday as Temple clinched the second seed in the Atlantic Ten tournament with an 85-66 win over La Salle, the team's fourth consecutive win.

For much of Clark's college career, it was easy to overlook him, and not just because, at 5-foot-8, he is usually the shortest player on the court. Clark didn't play that much in his first two seasons under John Chaney, and he was slotted behind Dustin Salisbery at point guard last season.

As a senior, though, his playing time finally has arrived, and with it, Chris Clark has arrived as well. Just in time for March.

Clark has only seven double-figure scoring games in the 97 he has played for Temple, but six of those have come since Jan. 31. Coming off the bench for starter Luis Guzman, Clark has been getting consistent minutes and making the most of them. Not quite like yesterday, however.

With La Salle sagging to help cover Mark Tyndale and Dionte Christmas, Clark was able to get open looks from the perimeter. He made 8 of 10 from the floor, including six three-pointers. In the first half, he helped the Owls build a 24-point lead. In the second half, his three three-pointers were the only points Temple scored in the first seven minutes, each halting the momentum of an attempted La Salle comeback.

"My job is to give my teammates the ball," Clark said. "The more shots I take, the less they take. That's my mentality. I want to get them involved, run the offense, and be solid on defense. But if the opportunity presents itself and I take shots, I've got to knock them down. I was getting open, and so I started being a little more aggressive."

It wasn't as if Clark didn't have other responsibilities. He was in charge of guarding La Salle's leading scorer, Darnell Harris, who is now the all-time three-point shooter in conference history. Clark harassed Harris all over the court, limiting his three-pointers and forcing him to take his offense inside for much of the game. With a big lead, Temple was happy to take that swap, and the Explorers never got closer than 12 points.

"You can't imagine the kind of kid he is," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "Any time you have that quality of character off the court, you believe he's going to give you that on the court as well. That makes you trust putting him out there. The other part is that every day in practice, he knocks down very difficult shots. And it's not easy for him to get shots."

Clark has to create his own off the dribble, or has to move to the right spot without the ball. He did both yesterday, always seeming to find the hole in La Salle's defense.

"As soon as we would step up and help out on someone, they'd hit the open man. They just play good basketball," La Salle coach John Giannini said. "They are a very nice example of how to play the game."

Clark does his part. He doesn't make mistakes, and he can hit big shots. Tall men are always easier to forgive on the basketball court. Short guys have to be nearly perfect.

"My first two years were rough, knowing I wasn't going to get much playing time. But I progressed, I got better, and I never lost confidence," said Clark, who also finished his high school career with a win at Tom Gola Arena, playing in the Catholic League championship game for St. Joseph's Prep, matched up against Kyle Lowry of Cardinal Dougherty.

Clark has at least a little more college career to go, starting Thursday in the A-10 tourney in Atlantic City.

"It was great, having a game like this in Philly," Clark said. "My family has always supported me. My dad was here and my Uncle Jeff, who played at St. Joe's. It helps me believe in myself."

This, of course, is a great time of year to believe. It doesn't matter any longer that Temple was picked to finish ninth in the conference, or that Chris Clark was always easy to overlook.

Little teams and little players can win games. It has happened before. And it can even happen in March.