PHILADELPHIA — Husky 6-foot-8, 250-pound Temple forward Nehemiah Ingram comes off the bench to chants of “goon” from the Owl student section.

The affectionate nickname refers to the way Temple coach John Chaney described Ingram’s role last season when he was sent into a game against St. Joseph’s to send a message and broke an opponent’s arm with a hard foul.

So much for the City of Brotherly Love – Ingram was even featured on the cover of Temple’s game program this month.

And Saturday, it didn’t take long for the Terrapins to realize Ingram’s job description hasn’t changed too much in a 91-85 Temple win.

Minutes after his arrival in the first half, Ingram whipped Terp forward Nik Caner-Medley to the hardwood after the two became entangled, and guard Mike Jones became the next victim tossed to the ground three minutes later.

Caner-Medley and Ingram shared words throughout the game, and Caner-Medley’s were biting afterwards.

“It was a very physical game – a lot of dirty play on their part, a lot of trash-talking on their part,” he said. “We came out and played basketball; they came out to play basketball slash football. It’s not frustrating – it’s dangerous.”

Ingram was on the field as a tight end when the Terp football team faced Temple back in October, and Caner-Medley said he feels that’s the only place the senior should be.

“You’ve got a guy like Ingram out there stepping on people’s feet on purpose and giving people elbows in the back,” the Terp captain added. “You saw what he did last year. He shouldn’t be playing college basketball.”

Caner-Medley said Friday he expected to be keyed by the Owl defense because his career-high 35 points against Temple last season pulled the Terps to an 80-69 win. But Ingram said his physical play Saturday wasn’t connected to last season’s meeting in College Park, where Caner-Medley also grabbed six offensive rebounds.

“I always play physical no matter what person it is,” Ingram said. “When you come down low, it’s a physical area. You’re supposed to expect to get bumped a little bit.”

In 103 minutes on the court this season, Ingram has scored 17 points and committed 21 personal fouls. His five points and five rebounds Saturday were an atypical output, and Ingram admits the game may have also been a tad more physical than the “goon” is used to.

“Yeah, a little bit,” he said with a smile.

Contact reporter David Selig at dseligdbk@gmail.com.