Stopping David Hawkins is imposing enough a task. Stopping his Temple side with all pistons firing has proven near-impossible.
The Owls (13-11, 2-2 Big 5) rallied from an eight-point deficit late in regulation to edge city and conference rival La Salle, 74-70, in overtime. Temple improved to 4-0 when four Owls score in double figures.
The victory denied the Explorers (10-16, 0-4) their first city series victory in two seasons.
Hawkins led all scorers with 26 points on 9-for-17 shooting, including a series of crucial plays down the stretch that helped seal the victory.
"That's why he's an NBA player. I love David Hawkins," La Salle coach Billy Hahn said. "I'd take him anytime, anyplace, anywhere. If I was on a playground, he'd be the first guy I'd pick up."
Hawkins, the nation's third-leading scorer, shone when the Owls needed him most.
Trailing 59-51 with 3:57 remaining in regulation, the senior captain calmly sank a three-pointer over La Salle guard Rasheed Quadri with the shot clock winding down. Following a defensive stop, Hawkins assisted on a Dustin Salisbery three-pointer which cut the La Salle advantage to two.
On the ensuing possession, the Temple defense again clamped down and forced a shot clock violation. Next time down, Collins sank a jumper to complete the comeback.
"We went through one of our dry spurts where we couldn't score," Hahn said. "They've been haunting us all season long."
The Explorers scored the first four points of overtime, but the Owls responded with seven straight -- including long balls by Collins and Antywane Robinson.
"They made some big-time shots that were well-guarded," Hahn said.
Holding a 67-64 lead with under a minute to play, Hawkins converted a three-point play to ensure the victory.
Collins finished with 16 points while freshmen Tyreek Byard and Salisbery notched 14 and 11, respectively.
Gary Neal scored eight of his 19 points before the break, forcing Temple coach John Chaney to tinker with his traditional matchup zone.
"They really had us tied up until we put the box-and-one on Neal," Chaney said. "La Salle had a great game plan."
Temple trailed for most of the first half, until rattling off eight unanswered points before halftime -- including a Collins long ball as time expired -- to secure a 28-27 lead.
Hahn went with a new starting lineup, opting for Quadri and Cleaves over usual starters Neal and David Bell.
"I thought we needed a change. I just went with a gut feeling," Hahn explained. "We need more scoring than Steve Smith and Gary Neal, and we've been trying to work on that."
Cleaves, the former Big 5 Rookie of the Year, scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Freshman pivot man Mike St. John also contributed a double-double.
Steven Smith added 15 points and five rebounds.
La Salle's last victory in the city series came on Feb. 13, 2002, when the Explorers edged Temple at Tom Gola Arena, 71-67
The Owls moved to 6-1 in February. During Chaney's tenure on North Broad Street, the Owls boast a 145-49 record during the month.
NOTES:
La Salle debuted a new logo last night and everyone in attendance was given aT-shirt that prominently displayed the logo.
The Explorers honored Chaney with a special pre-game ceremony that commemorated his 700th all-time victory -- a milestone Chaney achieved on Jan. 28 in a 76-57 victory over St. Bonaventure at the Liacouras Center.
Neal crossed over the 1,000-point mark with his 19-point performance. Neal is only the sixth player in La Salle history to reach this milestone in two seasons or less.
Hawkins' 26-point performance was the 18th time in 19 games that the Owls' senior point guard tallied 20 or more points.
Last night's game was the first overtime contest for both the Owls and the Explorers this season.
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