PHILADELPHIA (01/14/03) - On paper, Tuesday's Atlantic 10 and Big Five matchup between Saint Joseph's and Temple appeared to be a blowout. It matched the league's best defense, the Hawks, against the league's worst offense. SJU came in with an 11-1 record, while the Owls limped in with a 3-10 mark. But paper cannot account for a city series game. The Hawk backcourt of junior Jameer Nelson and sophomore Delonte West made their case for the best backcourt in the conference, and maybe the nation, as Saint Joseph's (12-1, 4-0 A-10, 1-0 Big Five) held off a scrappy Temple (3-11, 1-3 A-10, 0-3 Big Five) contingent, 65-55, at the Liacouras Center. West, who finished with a game-high 26 points, stole the show in the first half scoring 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. It was Nelson's turn in the second half as the point guard scored 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting to keep the A-10 and Big Five rivals at bay. "Jameer's game speaks for itself--the way he plays the game. He has a greater will than skill. I think he's the best point guard in America," head coach Phil Martelli said. "Delonte's perimeter shooting is because of him. He worked hard in the summer; he's a guy that loves basketball and works on his game constantly," Martelli said. "When we recruited him, we thought he could be a star." Their lines speak for themselves. West had 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting, seven assists (versus no turnovers) and six rebounds. Nelson racked up 25 points (8-13 FG, 5-8 3FG), collected a season-high ten rebounds and dished six assists. Combined, the duo hit for 51 of the Hawks' 65 total points. The two teams battled back and forth in the first 10 minutes of the game before John Chaney's squad went on an 8-0 run to take a 20-14 lead at the 9:43 mark. It would be their largest of the game as the Hawk backcourt combined to score the team's next 14 points, giving the Hawks a one-point lead. West scored nine in the run, including a fast-break slam at the 2:41 mark. Senior center Alexandre Sazonov (six points) gave St. Joe's a 30-27 halftime advantage on a buzzer-beating lay-in from sophomore Pat Carroll. After Temple started the second half with a David Hawkins slam, SJU went on a 10-1 run to open the game up. West connected on a three and Nelson followed with a fast-break layup and a three to give Saint Joseph's a 39-30 lead at the first media timeout of the half. TU responded as Alex Wesby scored five of his nine consecutive points to cut the Hawk lead to just five. But again the SJU backcourt took control, going on a 9-0 run in a span of three minutes. Two West free-throws gave St. Joe's its largest lead of the game at 59-46, but as expected in a Big Five game, Temple made things interesting. Three consecutive three's by the trio of Wesby, Maurice Collins, and Brian Polk trimmed the lead to 61-55, but Nelson was 4-for-4 from the line to seal the victory. Saint Joseph's had an impressive 19 assists on its 23 field goals. "Other than our foul-shooting, I thought we played good basketball. And against this team [Temple], that's what you have to do," Martelli said. Wesby led the charge for the Cherry and White scoring 17 points and a team-high seven boards. Collins and Hawkins each added 14. Saint Joseph's returns to the court on Sunday when they visit Atlantic 10 foe Rhode Island. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. That gane will be televised by CN8, instead of Comcast SportsNet. Phil Martelli's HawkTalk will air on SportsNet at 1:30 p.m. as originally scheduled.