DAYTON, OH (03/13/03) -- At the final media timeout of the first half, the scoreboard read Saint Joseph's 16, La Salle 15. Sixteen minutes had passed and the teams had combined for just 31 points. Neither team could find the bottom of the net, and at that point, it didn't look as if either team would reach 50 points. But a dominating final 25 minutes and a balanced effort allowed the No. 25 Hawks to advance to the Atlantic 10 semifinals with a convincing 68-48 victory over La Salle at UD Arena Thursday night. As has been the case since October, Saint Joseph's (23-5) defense was the story. The Hawks received scoring from nine different players, led by junior Jameer Nelson's 15 points, but it was the stifling man-to-man D, which held the Explorers to just 32.7% shooting from the floor, that turned a tense game into a rout. Junior Tyrone Barley, snubbed by the conference's head coaches for the A-10 All-Defensive Team, held the league's rookie of the year, Gary Neal, to just 13 points. It was the second time this season that the Newark, N.J., native had put the clamps on La Salle's main scoring threat. Barley was part of an all-around effort that kept the opponent under the half-century mark for the eighth time this season. Only the 1980-81 Hawk squad has been so adept at frustrating its opponents. That squad finished 25-8 and reached the Elite Eight. This team has similar aspirations. The prior few games had been the Jameer Nelson show. He nearly carried the team to victory against then-No. 11 Xavier and scored 28 of the team's 52 points at Massachusetts. He was really Saint Joseph's only option. Thursday's game was a different story. Nelson still got his points, 15 on 5-of-14 shooting, but the victory was a total team effort. Sophomore Pat Carroll tickled the twine four times from behind the arc for 14 points. Freshman Chet Stachitas came off the bench to score nine points, all on three-balls. West, playing with his right lower leg in a quasi-cast, provided a first-half spark, scoring nine points and giving the Hawks a much-needed lift in the low-scoring first frame. Freshman Dwayne Jones continued his strong play of late, scoring eight points and grabbing a game-high 13 caroms, one short of a career high. "The bench really won this game for us," said head coach Phil Martelli. "I thought that Chet Stachitas hit a huge shot for us in the first half. Dwayne Lee makes a bucket at the buzzer, and all these kids have prepared themselves through really intense practices all year long." The first half saw Saint Joseph's on its way to a repeat of last year's A-10 quarterfinal loss to Dayton. The Hawks managed to shot 40% for the stanza, but most of those buckets came in the final four minutes. Up 16-15 at the media timeout at the 3:40 mark, St. Joe's would fall behind for the last time when Mike Cleaves's leaner put the Explorers ahead, 17-16. But West would can a three and a lay-up, and sophomore John Bryant's slam gave SJU a 23-19 lead at nearly the two-minute mark. La Salle (12-17) was especially chilly from the floor, shooting 33% in the half. In fact, the most recognizable mascot in all of college basketball, the Hawk, converted on four shots during halftime -- all while continuing to flap. It might have been the best shooting of the half. After a Cleaves lay-up cut the Hawks' lead to just two, Stachitas connected on his first trey of the contest. An acrobatic, driving lay-up by freshman Lee at the buzzer put the Hawks up by five, their largest lead of the evening up to then. With the momentum clearly in the St. Joe's locker room, one expected the Hawks to continue their run after the intermission. Instead, the Explorers scored the first five points of the half, tying the game at 28. Carroll would then score 11 points in a 15-5 Saint Joseph's run that broke the game open. SJU shot 54% for the half and held La Salle to 32%. Neal and freshman Jermaine Thomas each scored 13 points in defeat. Saint Joseph's returns to UD Arena Friday for a 9:30 p.m. matchup with host Dayton. --Kevin Bonner/Saint Joseph's Sports Media Relations