Heated Rivalry Renewed Today

Nehemiah Ingram went from a little-known reserve to Temple’s infamous enforcer. Owl Coach John Chaney earned a five-game suspension and permanent black mark on a Hall of Fame career. John Bryant’s career nearly came to a premature end, saved only by St. Joseph’s run in the NIT.

The longtime Philadelphia rivals never had a game quite like the one last February, when Chaney used 6-foot-8, 250-pound Ingram to send a message to the Hawks, resulting in Bryant’s broken arm.

The Owls play St. Joseph’s today at the Palestra for the first time since that game.

“The actions should never have happened,” Hawk Coach Phil Martelli said. “They are forgiven, but they are not forgotten. There’s a sliver of me that’s concerned about the circus atmosphere around the game.”

With each school having its own fans, objectionable chants and creatively pointed signs, it could be quite a rowdy atmosphere.

“We’re going into this game like we would any other game, it’s just different when you’re playing Temple,” Hawk guard Dwayne Lee said. “Obviously, people are going to be talking about what happened last year.”

The noise may reach its zenith when Ingram gets into the game, because he was asked to commit hard fouls to even the score because Chaney thought St. Joseph’s was using illegal screens that went uncalled by officials.

But one foul stood out after Ingram knocked down Bryant on a dunk. Bryant was sprawled on the court for several minutes, and two days later, it was discovered that he had a broken arm.

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Stanford forward Fred Washington will have season-ending surgery on his left knee to repair a torn patella tendon. He has not played in the Cardinal’s last five games because of the problem, which initially was said to be tendinitis.

Washington, a 6-foot-5 junior, moved into the starting lineup last season when Dan Grunfeld had a season-ending knee injury. In six games this season, he was averaging 3.5 points and 1.5 rebounds.