By Harry Allison
You want to know how important Wil Cummings is to Temple’s 12-7 Owls?
Coach Fran Dunphy (photo above) couldn’t play him last night and Temple missed his senior leadership at Cincinnati, which broke away from a tight game to swamp the Owls 84-53.
Jermaine Sanders scored 16 points to lead four Cincinnati players in double figures and the Bearcats road an explosive start to the second half. Kevin Johnson added 14 points, Octavius Ellis 13 and Gary Clark 11.
Leading 29-28, the Bearcats, who shot just 32.1 percent in the first half, made their first 11 field-goal attempts after the break and went up 58-38. Cincinnati (12-5, 3-2 American) finished 20 of 26 for 76.9 percent in the second half to end up at 53.7 for the game. The Bearcats’ lead reached a high of 35 points with 2:31 left.
Jesse Morgan led Temple (12-7, 3-3) with 15 points with Obi Enechionyia adding 14. The Owls were without Cummings (12.9 points per game), who has been hampered by a strained muscle in his lower left leg.
