PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ryan Brooks scored 15 points, Juan Fernandez had 12 and Temple coach Fran Dunphy beat his former team again in the No. 19 Owls’ 60-45 win over Penn on Wednesday night.
Dunphy, who coached the Quakers for 17 seasons, improved to 3-1 against Penn since making the move across town for Temple in 2006. Dunphy led the Quakers to nine NCAA tournaments and has the Owls (14-3) in position for their third straight trip.
In front of Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington, the Quakers (1-11) stubbornly stuck with the Owls and used a second-half run that cut the deficit to five and make another famous Philly upset at the historic Palestra seem possible.
The Owls never let them get closer and held on for their 10th win in 11 games.