Juan Fernandez hit three 3-pointers and handed out three assists in a game-opening 24-8 run that led No. 17 Temple to an easy 69-51 victory over St. Bonaventure in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic-10 Conference tournament on Friday.
Fernandez finished with 17 points and matched a career high with seven assists as the top-seeded and two-time defending champion Owls (27-5) beat the Bonnies (15-16) for the 13th straight time.
Fernandez got some help from his friends. Lavoy Allen added 14 points and 15 rebounds and Michael Eric had 13 points to pace Temple to its eighth-straight win.
The double-double for Allen was his 13th of the season. The 15 rebounds tied for the 10th highest in an Atlantic 10 Conference tournament game.
Andrew Nicholson had 13 points and seven rebounds for the eighth-seeded Bonnies, who beat Duquesne on Tuesday for their first win in the conference tournament since 2002.
Temple, which was picked to finish fifth in the preseason conference poll, played well on both ends of the court in reaching the semifinals, where it will play either fourth-seeded Saint Louis or fifth-seeded Rhode Island on Saturday at Boardwalk Hall.
The Owls shot 52.6 percent (30 of 57) from the field and held St. Bonaventure to 35.8 percent (19 of 53) in winning their seventh straight conference tournament game over the past three seasons.
