PHILADELPHIA (AP) John Chaney got mad, then he tried to get even.
Tired of observing what he thought were illegal screens by Saint Joseph's that were not being called by the officials, the fiery Temple coach sent in the big man to do some dirty work.
Chaney turned to seldom-used 6-foot-8, 250-pound Nehemiah Ingram to move around on his own picks - and throw a few elbows while he was at it.
It didn't matter in the result as Saint Joseph's clinched a share of the Atlantic 10 title with a 63-56 victory over Temple on Tuesday night.
"I'm sending a message," Chaney said. "I'm going to send in what we used to do years ago, send in the goon."
Chaney complained on Monday during an Atlantic 10 conference call that the Hawks (15-9, 12-1) were guilty of setting illegal picks. When Chaney said he saw them not being called again, he knew he had to do something.
"I'm going to send a message to everybody in the league that when we come to play, we're going to set them too," Chaney said.
The city series turned nasty early in the second half when Chaney was called for a technical after berating the officials, and the temperamental Hall of Famer had to be restrained by his assistants.
Ingram started throwing his arms around and tossing elbows, once connecting hard to the chin of Hawks center Dwayne Jones.
"He's not even on our scouting report," Jones said. "That's what he put him in there to do. ... His job was to come in and throw 'bows and he did a good job with it. My neck is a little sore."
While Chaney said he wanted Ingram to only throw his weight around on the screen, the senior did more than that with his arms.
"We've got to teach him to do it a little bit better, that's all," Chaney said.
Normally mild-mannered Pat Carroll of the Hawks started jawing with Ingram, and the Temple center was hit with a technical foul. Then Ingram smacked down John Bryant on a dunk, and the Hawks forward was sprawled on the court for several minutes.
Bryant said he was fine, though Chaney hardly seemed concerned.
"That's what happens," Chaney said. "When I see something wrong, I'm going to right it."
The teams got in each other's faces several times while the crowd at the Liacouras Center erupted, perhaps anticipating a brawl. The fireworks ended soon after when Ingram fouled out after playing only 4 minutes.
Chaney screamed at Atlantic 10 commissioner Linda Bruno that he never wanted to see referee Jim Burr again and demanded Big Ten or ACC officials.
"I don't want to see them!" Chaney screamed as walked into the media room.
Chaney said he was fed up with all the refs.
"I try to play it right, but no more," said Chaney, who has 721 career victories.
Said Bruno, "We'll get a tape of the game and look at it."
Chaney said he didn't see anything wrong with putting in Ingram and that the officials were to blame for using two sets of rules on the screens.
Temple did not make players available.
Hawks coach Phil Martelli downplayed Ingram's physical play and called the referees "Final Four quality."
"I just saw a guy out there who hadn't played much and was probably trying to prove to his coach through what he thought was hustle that he should be in the game," Martelli said.
Martelli said the Hawks did not use illegal screens.
"We don't play illegal screens, but when you do it to me, I'm going to do it back to you," Chaney said.
Chet Stachitas scored 19 points, Carroll hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points, Dwayne Lee had nine assists and Jones had 13 rebounds for the Hawks, who clinched a share of their fifth straight Atlantic 10 Eastern Division title. Only UMass from 1991 to 1996 won five straight A-10 titles.
"We won the game and that's all that matters," Jones said. "We're not going to back down. That's not going to scare us."
Mardy Collins scored 13 points and Wayne Marshall had 11 for Temple (13-11, 9-4), which lost its sixth straight to Saint Joseph's. Chaney tried mixing up his game plan, abandoning his famous matchup zone for man-to-man defense. Nothing worked.
Lost in the shuffle of the hoopla was a 15-3 Hawks' run, capped by a 3 by Stachitas, that pushed the lead to 16 points midway through the second half.
Temple's Dustin Salisbery hit two 3-pointers in the final minute to make it 61-56.
