Chaney Guides Temple Into Another Final

Once more, with feeling.

Temple Coach John Chaney has reached a regional final for the fifth time.

At 69, he’s still seeking his first Final Four.

“Definitely it’s something we want to do as a team, to take him somewhere he’s never been on a Division I level,” guard Quincy Wadley said after Temple’s 84-72 victory in a South Regional semifinal at the Georgia Dome.

The Owls face defending champion Michigan State Sunday for the right to play in Minneapolis.

The victory over Penn State was hardly as close as the score.

Temple led by 18 points at halftime, 39-21, and by as many as 23.

Penn State, after shooting 27% in the first half against Temple’s zone, made 52% of its shots in the second--including 11 of 20 three-pointers.

Penn State (21-12) still didn’t get closer than 10 points with 2:56 left.

“I knew they were going to start hitting baskets. It was just a matter of when,” Chaney said.

Too late, it turned out.

Chaney’s team has come around just in time.

The Owls (24-12) lost seven games in a row in November and December, including a six-point loss to Penn State.

Now Chaney has them back in the final eight for the second time in three seasons. Temple lost to Duke in 1999.

Though Chaney won a Division II national championship at Cheyney State in 1978, the major-college Final Four has been elusive.

“When you don’t think it should happen, it happened,” Chaney said. “I really just wanted to get in the tournament and see if these guys could be lightning in a bottle. That’s the way I feel every year.

“It is most surprising that we got here with nine usable players. We have nine players and use about seven. That is the most unusual thing that’s ever happened to me in my life.”

Guard Lynn Greer led the Owls with 21 points. Four other players scored more than 10 points, including center Kevin Lyde, who had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Titus Ivory scored 20 points for Penn State. Gyasi Cline-Heard, the son of former NBA player and coach Gar Heard, had 18.

Chaney called Michigan State “a tremendous rebounding team.”

With their much-noted depth, the Spartans are a tough draw for Temple.

“Hard for the seven guys that we use to beat that team, which has many, many weapons,” Chaney said.