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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Craig Dawson made the most of every minute
he played.
Dawson scored a career-high 23 points in 23 minutes and Robert
O'Kelley added 20 as No. 6 Wake Forest beat Temple 73-65 Thursday
night for the Owls' seventh straight loss, the longest losing
streak in coach John Chaney's 19 seasons.
Wake Forest is 10-0 for the first time since starting 13-0 in
Tim Duncan's senior season four years ago.
"We felt like we can move the ball side-to-side on them, and my teammates did a great job getting me the ball," said Dawson, who leads the team in scoring with a 15.8 average, despite not starting. "I felt confident out there and we approached it like they were Duke or Kansas."
The Demon Deacons held their 17th straight opponent to 40
percent shooting or less, and won their 15th straight, dating to
last season's NIT championship run -- the second-longest winning
streak in the country. Michigan State has won 20 in a row.
Temple (4-7) has played one of the toughest schedules in the
country, losing twice to top-ranked Duke and to No. 16 Wisconsin
last week.
"I told them Temple is Temple and John Chaney is John Chaney,"
Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said. "They are a very difficult team
to play."
Darius Songaila scored 17 and Josh Shoemaker had four points and
10 rebounds for Wake Forest.
Lynn Greer tied a career-high with 25 points, David Hawkins had 18 and Alex Wesby had 15 for the Owls.
"Maybe I should've stayed out two days," Chaney said, referring to Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown, who skipped two straight practices this week after a dispute with his players. "My kids would've probably had cake and ice cream if I wasn't there. They say nice things about me, but they really hate (me)."
Chaney closed the locker room after the game, saying his players
might "say something wrong." He also called a 5:30 a.m. practice
on Friday.
After trailing by as many as 16 in the second half, Temple used
an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 55-52 with 5:24 left.
Hawkins scored the first four points and Greer scored the last
four during the run as Wake Forest was scoreless for 3:44.
O'Kelley's driving layup gave the Demon Deacons a 59-54 lead
with 3:36 left. The senior guard was fouled on the shot and missed
the free throw, but Wake Forest got the rebound and Shoemaker made
it 61-54 with a 15-footer.
A slicing layup by Greer cut the deficit to three points, 61-58,
with 1:43 left. But O'Kelley scored on a driving layup, and made
another layup after Josh Howard blocked a shot by Greer to give
Wake Forest a 65-58 lead with 56.1 seconds left.
Temple didn't get closer than four the rest of the way.
"He's going to take the game on at the end," Odom said of O'Kelley. "He'll take it on by himself."
O'Kelley and the Demon Deacons have flourished since he moved
from point guard to shooting guard last season. He's averaging 13.1
points.
"If the team needs me to score at the end, I'm going to do it,
but we have a lot of guys that can step up," O'Kelley said. "It
just happened to be me this game."
Wake Forest shot 8-for-26 from 3-point range, getting a number
of open looks early by moving the ball well against Temple's
matchup zone. The Owls allowed Wisconsin to hit 14-of-28 3-pointers
in a 66-58 loss last week.
Temple briefly held a lead in the early minutes, but Wake Forest
quickly erased a 5-4 deficit with a 17-2 run that included four
consecutive 3-pointers.
Songaila and Dawson each had 11 points in the first half for the Demon Deacons. Greer also had 11 on 4-of-7 shooting while the rest of the Owls went 3-of-17.
Temple's losing streak is its worst since dropping 11 straight in 1975-76. The Owls only had nine players in uniform, including senior captain Quincy Wadley, who missed his third straight game with a left shoulder sprain.
Sophomore guard Ron Blackshear asked Chaney for his release last
Friday, and freshman forward Carlton Aaron was kicked off the team
earlier this month after complaining about his playing time.
The Owls have lost two straight at The Liacouras Center after
winning 24 in a row.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Wake Forest Clubhouse
Temple Clubhouse
Temple's losing streak now includes Blackshear's departure
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Ervin Murray finds Craig Dawson along the baseline for the jumper.
avi: 1364 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Temple's Lynn Greer knocks down the bank shot for the bucket.
avi: 680 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Craig Dawson heats up from downtown in the first half.
avi: 1081 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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