PHILADELPHIA (12/08/01) -- This was the sort of game that can be dangerous. For 18th-ranked Saint Joseph's, still seeking to hit their stride early in the season, facing a hot opponent on its home court in a fierce city rivalry was likely not the ideal way to spend a cold, rainy December day in Philadelphia. For as we all know after all these years, in these city games, you can throw everything else out the window. It's going to be close. It's going to be tight. And it's going to be a lot of fun to watch. In the end, however, games such as these usually come down to guard play, and Saint Joseph's is fortunate enough to have Marvin O'Connor and Jameer Nelson. The heralded backcourt duo combined for 35 points and 18 rebounds and, with a huge assist from a double-double by center Damian Reid (14 points, 10 rebounds), the Hawks were able to hold off a late surge and post a 67-61 victory over Penn in the inaugural Big Five Classic at The Palestra. Ugonna Onyekwe led Penn with 21 points and six rebounds, while Koko Archibong added 14 points and six rebounds and Jeff Schiffner added 13 for the Quakers. The event featured, for the first time in history, all six Philadelphia-area Division I teams, in the same building, in a triple-header against one another on the same day. A sellout crowd of 8,722 was announced for the game. Penn may be the only team that continues to use The Palestra as its exclusive home court, but the Hawks play enough of their schedule at the fabled gym each year that they remain familiar with the mystique. "We've played here so many times that we knew they weren't going to just lay down for us, " said O'Connor, who also tallied a double-double with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. "It doesn't matter... There's so much history of close games, and history's not going to change... it just lives on here." The Quakers (6-2 overall, 1-1 in the Big Five) came into their home building riding the crest of a five-game winning streak, including victories over national programs such as Georgia Tech and Iowa State, with their only loss coming against then - #2 Illinois. Saint Joseph's (5-1, 1-0), meanwhile, had dropped in the national rankings from their preseason Top-10 status, yet carried their own four-game winning streak into the contest, as well as perhaps a bit of a chip on their collective shoulders. "I got a call the other day, from a guy who knows college basketball," said Hawks coach Phil Martelli after the game, "and the guy asked me if we were alright. I mean, we're 4-1 [at the time], we've scored eighty points in three straight, and we haven't trailed in three games -- why wouldn't we be alright? I don't get this 'sky is falling' thing." The sky was restored to its proper, designated place in the firmament tonight, for the time being anyway, because the Hawks adapted their style of play to fit the game in which they found themselves. "We like to play a stylish game," said Martelli, "but that was down and dirty. It was a great atmosphere, and it was a hard-fought game, but it wasn't particularly beautiful basketball." "Sometimes, though," he added, "you have to grind it out." The grinding began with Reid, who scored the Hawks' first six points on a layup, a putback and a dunk, and drew a tough matchup on defense with Archibong. "That was the matchup we were most concerned about, because of the way [Archibong] plays outside-in," said Martelli in the postgame press conference, which included O'Connor and Nelson but not Reid. "I need to chastise (here), because everybody gets so caught up in Marvin and Jameer. But Damian Reid played the best game for us." "Damian's a feel-good player. When he gets a field goal early, he's a world beater," Martelli said. "I think Damian is forgotten on this team. We have four guys who can knock you out. He just kind of fills in where he's needed." Although they shot only 38% for the game from the floor, the Hawks were able to make their shots when they counted. Senior Na'im Crenshaw, who came into the game averaging 16 points per outing, connected on only one shot, but it came at a crucial spot in the second half, as the Hawks were building a lead large enough to hold off the inevitable Quaker comeback. Crenshaw's three-point shot from the corner with 7:29 remaining gave the Hawks a 61-48 lead, their largest of the game, and gave them the cushion that allowed them to hold on in the end. "St. Joe's is a very good basketball team," said Penn coach Fran Dunphy following the contest. "They have that ability to make shots at difficult times."