Chaney told Flint that he is sorry. Sorry for how this turned out.

It was a struggle, but Temple coach John Chaney and guard Lynn Greer could finally smile.(AP)

"Helluva job," Chaney rasped to Flint after Temple defeated UMass 76-65 to win the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament and an automatic NCAA Tournament bid -- the latter of which seemed to have slipped through the Owls' hands late in Friday's semifinal before two controversial officiating decisions helped them beat George Washington.

"You had a great season," Chaney continued in his aside with Flint, a former St. Joseph's guard who coached his Minutemen to an upset in Friday's other semifinal -- a defeat of top-seeded and 21st-ranked St. Joe's.

When you are part of Philadelphia's fabled Big Five basketball schools, the bonds are as sturdy as the hardest metal.

That applies whether you are a veteran coach such as Chaney, or a former St. Joe's guard whose team stormed in from New England and knocked off his own alma mater.

A separate piece of Philadelphia basketball news also transpired this weekend, as another Atlantic 10 school -- LaSalle -- begrudgingly fired one of the city's favorite basketball sons, 15-year coach William "Speedy" Morris.

Chaney's final words to Flint in the hallway:

"And, Bruiser?" Chaney said. "When you get a chance, call Speedy."

Bruiser nodded his head with respect. Flint will place that phone call, you can be sure.

But Flint has other calls to make to the pipeline of people in college basketball who determine the field for the National Invitation Tournament.

After a 2-9 start, the Minutemen finished their conference tournament with a record of 15-15. Their case for the NIT centers on giving an energized Temple team a real test, dismissing the top seed, and skipping town knowing their character was all the better for it.

"I think some people have called already for us (on behalf of a Massachusetts NIT bid). I have a good feeling," Flint said. "I think we'll be playing next week."

In his fifth season as the Minutemen's coach, Flint's record stands at 86-72. He hopes to become just the second UMass coach to take four teams to the postseason in his first five seasons. (John Calipari, the man Flint replaced, coached the Minutemen to a Final Four.)

Still, it's believed Flint's job was in jeopardy entering the A-10 tourney.

Whether the play of his team rescued his job for next season -- or will need to if an NIT bid works out -- hangs in the balance.

"If I'm there, I'm there," Flint said of his job prospects in Amherst next year. "I'm all right. I know I'm going to be coaching somewhere."

His team came close against Temple in what was really a test of two teams who have watched circumstances challenge their wills all season.

For UMass, the challenge was its brutal start.

For Temple, the challenge was replacing three starters -- and the special aura that former Owl Pepe Sanchez brought to the program in particular.

Moreover, the disciplinary suspension of highly regarded recruit Ronald Blackshear made the Owls' depth even more suspect.

"We worked hard and it paid off," said junior guard Lynn Greer, who had a team-high 20 points.

"I think it's noteworthy," Chaney said, "that after we lost four players from last year's team -- three starters and Keaton Sanders -- that expectations for Temple are always very high."

Always a master at denigrating his own talent -- Chaney griped earlier this year he goes with such a limited rotation of his rosters because most of the guys on his bench "can't play" -- the Temple coach knew two things entering this championship game.

First -- as Chaney said in passing to Flint -- his team was somewhat "lucky" to draw a three-shot foul late in the defeat of George Washington and not get charged with 2.9 seconds left. Greer hit all three from the line to win. The Owls also were not cited for an intentional foul on GW's Mike King with 26 seconds left. GW coach Tom Penders said Greer "just tackled Mike King -- an obvious intentional foul."

Second, without the win over GW, the Owls were not going to the NCAA Tournament. They would have been 19-13.

The tournament surely would extend at-large bids to two A-10 teams -- St. Joseph's and Xavier. But not three. This would have been just the third time Chaney missed the tournament in 19 seasons.

"Everybody stepped up and played great defense," Chaney said of this championship game. "We fought back and played great defense at the end."

Flint said the "turning point" was a technical foul on center Kitwana Rhymer with 9:47 to play.

At the time, the Owls trailed 53-52 but Greer made the two free throws off the technical and Quincy Wadley followed with a 3-pointer to give Temple a 57-53 lead.

The tournament MVP Greer had an important three-point play with 3:57 left. Even as Shannon Crooks stripped him of the ball on a driving layup, he caught the ball while twisting in the air, hit the jumper and drew a foul. When he made the free throw Temple led by eight, 68-60.

By then, Chaney could smell an outcome that seemed so unlikely a day earlier.

He could sense the Owls were headed for their 12th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Not that he liked having to do it at the expense of his Philadelphia friend Bruiser Flint.