COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT : WEST REGIONAL : Temple Defeats Santa Clara With Defense

With five minutes remaining and the game seemingly in hand, Temple Coach John Chaney rose from his seat Saturday at the Huntsman Center and let out a bellow that none of the 12,129 spectators at the second round of the NCAA West Regional could miss.

The sometimes cantankerous coach, his team leading upstart Santa Clara by 16 points, was not pleased with the Owls’ frame of mind.

“I could see a different approach to the game for us,” Chaney said. “I wanted our team to realize it was in a foul-shooting situation and that Santa Clara (was going to foul).”

Chaney carried on for the remainder of the game, which Temple won, 68-57. He even struck Temple guard Aaron McKie on the shoulder with 2:05 to play after McKie allowed the man he was guarding in the key to slip around him for a shot.

“Coach gets very emotional,” McKie said. “Coach didn’t want us to let up. He didn’t want us to make turnovers. He wanted to see us put the game away nice and strong.”

Temple made 13 of 14 free throws down the stretch to advance to the Sweet 16.

Temple, only a 63% free-throw shooting team, made 23 of 32 on Saturday, while its stifling array of 2-3 and shifting match-up zone defenses put a blanket over Santa Clara and its propensity for three-point shots.

Unable to get the ball inside (in the first half alone the Broncos made only seven field goals, three of which came in the post area), Santa Clara bombed away from three-point range. The Broncos attempted a season-high 31 three-pointers, but made only eight, while shooting 32.8% overall from the field.

Temple didn’t do too well from outside, either, making only three of 13 three-point attempts. But the Owls finished the second half by making 10 of 19 field goals and finished the game 21 of 45.

“Their defense really bothered us,” first-year Santa Clara Coach Dick Davey said. “It created a lot of problems. Obviously we would have liked to shoot the ball better, but when you are playing against that kind of defense it’s difficult.”

The Owls (19-12) led from start to finish but never really shook the Broncos (19-12)until the final five minutes of play.

McKie, who led all scorers with 25 points, had 16 of those in the first half as Temple built a 26-18 lead.

Santa Clara closed to within five points twice in the early part of the second half.

A basket by Eddie Jones, who scored 17 points, gave Temple a 42-32 lead with 12:40 to play and from there the Owls outscored the Broncos, 12-6, for a 54-38 lead about the time Chaney went off on his players.

Guard Rick Brunson, who also drew the wrath of his coach late in the game for a defensive lapse, made 10 of 11 free throws and two baskets down the stretch. He finished with 20 points. Temple plays Vanderbilt in a West Regional semifinal Friday in Seattle.

Vanderbilt 85, Illinois 68--The Commodores (28-5) raced to a 29-16 lead in the first 15 minutes. Illinois (19-13) cut the lead to 39-35 with 18:40 to play and trailed by five at the 9:43 mark. Vanderbilt, paced by seven points from Ronnie McMahan, went on a 12-4 run and led, 71-58, with 5:17 to play. The Commodores made 10 of 24 three-point attempts, while Illinois, which defeated Cal State Long Beach in the first round Thursday, made 18 of 42 from the floor in the second half. Guard Billie McCaffrey of Vanderbilt led all scorers with 29 points. McMahan had 21.