No. 18 Temple beats Northern Illinois 70-60

Posted December 30, 2009 10:00 pm

DEKALB -- Juan Fernandez scored 26 points and Ryan Brooks added 19 for No. 18 Temple, which tuned up for a weekend game with No. 1 Kansas with a 70-60 victory over Northern Illinois on Wednesday night.

The Owls (11-2) never trailed in the first meeting between the programs. But the Huskies (2-8) made it competitive as they cut an 18-point first-half deficit to 35-33 early in the second half.

But Temple reasserted control by the midpoint of the second half with a 12-2 run that restored a double-digit lead at 47-35. Northern Illinois never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Fernandez was 4 of 7 from 3-point range for the Owls, who host Kansas on Saturday at the Liacouras Center.

Xavier Silas paced the Huskies with 26 points while Darion Anderson added 15.

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