PHILADELPHIA -- Duquesne started tough, but then stumbled and faded away against a bigger, more stout and 19th-ranked Temple team tonight at the Liacouras Center, as the Owls (19-4, 7-1) earned a 76-60 victory against the visiting Dukes (11-11, 2-6).
Ramone Moore led Temple with 15 points; Eric Evans and Bill Clark had 12 each for the Dukes.
Temple outrebounded Duquesne, 35-19.
Duquesne started very strong ---- about as strong as they have all season, especially considering the strength of the opposition.
The Dukes went up 10-2 and turned that into 17-10.
Eric Evans, the Dukes' sophomore point guard, had eight early points and 10 with 9:50 left in the first half.
Temple, though, punched back.
The Owls took their first lead of the first half at the 9:06 mark, when T.J. DiLeo hit two free throws to make it 23-21.
DiLeo then went on a surge, all by himself, a few minutes later as he hit a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 29-23, then had a steal and runout dunk to make it 31-23.
Temple led, 42-34 at the half.
From there, Temple carried out coach Fran Dunphy's system masterfully in the second half, playing keep-away at times, but also running when they needed to, in an effort to get quick baskets when the Dukes made a bit of a run.
Duquesne cut it to 44-38 with 17:26 left, but that six-point deficit was as close as the Dukes got in the second half.
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