ST. BONAVENTURE, NY (01/08/03) - The Atlantic 10's top-rated offense and defense went to head-to-head at the Reilly Center on Wednesday evening in what was billed to be a classic showdown of two of the league's best teams. It was far from a classic game, however, but Saint Joseph's, sporting the eighth-best defense in the nation, put together a classic half of basketball in thumping St. Bonaventure, 75-58. The Hawks, now 10-1 and 2-0 in the A-10, jumped out to a 44-23 halftime lead on the strength of 8-of-13 shooting from three-point range. SJU held the league's leading scorer, junior Marques Green from Norristown High, to just three points in the first stanza, and 12 total for the game. "There are few times when you coach when you have a team follow a game plan almost to the letter," stated SJU head coach Phil Martelli. "These guys followed the game plan exactly the way we laid it out." Sophomores Delonte West and Pat Carroll led the way for the Hawks, tying for game-high honors with 17 points each. The two combined for five three-pointers in the game's first eight minutes with West tallying 11 of his points to give the Hawks a 22-13 advantage with 11:43 to play. "We just wanted a nice calm rhythm (on offense)," explained the Hawk coach. "When I thought about the game, I thought about Delonte and Pat having shots and picking where they wanted to shoot." After the Bonnies cut the lead to six, 22-16, at the 10-minute mark, SJU went on a 10-0 run, capped by a Dave Mallon lay-up, to make it 32-16 with just under seven minutes remaining before intermission. That took the wind out of the Bonnies sails, and the Hawks cruised from there, eventually extending their lead to a high of 27 points, 60-33, midway through the second half. West, along with Tyrone Barley, did a terrific job on Green, who came into the game with a 22.1 scoring average. He also served as the team's playmaker, dishing a career-high eight assists to take over the team lead from Jameer Nelson. Nelson was quiet offensively, talling just 11 points on the night. The Hawk All-American let the game come to him, not worrying about his points, but contributing with a game-high nine rebounds while dishing six assists. He also moved ahead of former Hawk great Bob McNeill (442 assists, 1957-60), and into fourth place on the school's all-time list with 446. Carroll was his deadeye self, hitting 7-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-3 from long range. "In a game of horse, I would put Pat up against anybody in the league," added Martelli. Freshmen Chet Stachitas and Dwayne Jones gave the Hawks a lift off the bench. Stachitas, who tallied nine points in the team's win over Duquesne on Sunday, scored eight tonight to go along with a season high four assists. Jones, who leads the A-10 in blocks with 22, rejected three in the game while tallying six points and four rebounds. Mallon, a product of nearby East Aurora High, hit both of his shots, one from behind the arc, for a career-high five points. Fellow freshman Dwayne Lee also chipped in with a career high four points, connecting on his first three-pointer in an SJU uniform. Mike Gansey led the Bonnies (6-8, 1-1), who were held well below their season average 80.8 points per game, with 14 points. SBU, which entered the game making an A-10 best 9.4 three-pointers per game, hit just 2-of-14 from behind the arc. Green, who leads the A-10 with 3.23 three-pointers per game, missed on his only attempt. The Hawks, which have won six of their last eight games at the Reilly Center, return home to face UMass on Saturday afternoon (2:00 p.m./CSN/WPEN 950 AM).