Temple men idled due to positive test

Temple University announced Thursday that it is pausing activity in its men’s basketball program for 14 days because of a positive COVID-19 test within the program.

The school did not say if it was a Tier 1 person associated with the program in its release. Tier 1 personnel are players, coaches and support staff. The university did announce that the individual who tested positive will be in isolation for 10 says.

The Owls were to open the season Saturday against Virginia Tech in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off. That game has been canceled. Temple also was to visit Villanova Thursday and host La Salle on Dec. 6. Those games have been postponed with no makeup dates at this time.

“The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff is always the number one priority with our program.” Temple coach Aaron McKie said in a statement. “Our medical staff and administration have done an incredible job of creating a safe environment for our team. Through our daily testing we work to mitigate the spread of the virus, but nothing is foolproof.

“This is not the way we anticipated opening our season, but we will follow our medical professionals’ guidance in preparation for restarting practice in two weeks.”

In games Thursday: AUBURN 96, SAINT JOSEPH’S 91 » Saint Joseph’s gave Auburn a scare Thursday in the first round of the Fort Myers Tip-Off tournament. In the end, though, the Tigers’ work on the offensive glass proved to be a little too much as the Hawks fell in overtime.

Jaylen Williams’ put-back layup with 1:10 left in the extra session and a pair of free throws from Justin Powell after a Devan Cambridge missed 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining sealed the victory for the Tigers. Auburn turned 21 offensive rebounds into 30 second-chance points.

Williams led five Auburn players in double figures with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Taylor Funk poured in a careerhigh 28 points in his first game back for the Hawks. He missed the final 25 games of the 2019-20 season with a hand injury. Ryan Daly (Archbishop Carroll All-Delco) added 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Jack Forrest (15), Dahmir Bishop (14) and Greg Foster Jr. (11) also reach double figures for the Hawks, who take on sixth-ranked Kansas on Friday.

ST. JOHN’S 82, LA SALLE 65 » Turnovers proved costly for the Explorers in their season opener. La Salle coughed it up 26 times leading to 33 points for the Red Storm. St. John’s also had a 40-22 edge in the paint and a 34-17 advantage in fast break points.

Ayinde Hikim led La Salle with 14 points. Christian Ray added 12 points and Dylan Addae-Wusu pitched in with 10.

Vince Cole topped St. John’s with a game-high 19 points.

Women’s Basketball

For the second time this week the Villanova women’s basketball team had to make a schedule change.

The Wildcats were supposed to visit Manhattan on Saturday, but that game was canceled when Manhattan shut down operations for two weeks when one of its Tier 1 group tested positive for COVID. Villanova will head to Hamden, Conn., to take on Quinnipiac on Sunday. Tip-off is 3 p.m.

Villanova’s season opener against Saint Joseph’s was switched to Rider when the Hawks had to shut down for two weeks due to a positive test. The Wildcats beat the Broncs, 70-37, in Denise Dillon’s coaching debut.