DAYTON, OH (03/12/03) - Saint Joseph's will open play in the Atlantic 10 Tournament Thursday with an always-dangerous game against a Big 5 foe. The Hawks (22-5), seeded first in the A-10 East, will take on La Salle, No. 4 in the West, at 7:05 p.m.(CN8/WPEN 950 AM) in Dayton, Ohio. The Explorers (12-16) advanced to the quarterfinals with a 74-62 win over Fordham in Philadelphia Monday. Ranked No. 25 in the current AP poll, Saint Joseph's will look for its second victory against the Explorers in under three weeks. A stifling defensive effort paved the way for a 75-53 SJU win February 24 which clinched the Big 5 title for the Hawks. Though the two squads will be playing hundreds of miles from the Palestra, Saint Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli expects a typical City Series game at UD Arena. While the Explorers have struggled through an injury-plagued season, he observed, they haven't given up. "They play with tremendous energy, and that's a salute to [coach] Billy Hahn and his staff," Martelli told reporters during a conference call Tuesday morning. "To their credit, they're young players [who] don't recognize their record or the score in the game. They just keep going." The playing status of SJU's standout shooting guard, Delonte West, who has missed two straight games while nursing a stress fracture in his right fibula, will be determined Thursday. The Hawks are coming off a 52-49 win over Massachusetts Saturday in their regular-season finale. Point guard Jameer Nelson practically willed SJU to victory, tallying 28 points and 12 rebounds. The lackluster effort, following an overtime loss to then-No. 11 Xavier at the Fieldhouse, did not please Martelli. "We played our poorest game of the year Saturday against UMass," he said. "We had no rhythm at all offensively. We discarded the tape at a rest stop somewhere near Springfield, Mass., so it'll never be seen again. What I said to the team yesterday was we had to collectively and individually get back and play better basketball." Saint Joseph's held La Salle to 26 percent shooting in their February 24 match-up. After the game, Hahn seemed to imply that the Hawks were guilty of running up the score. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, however, he was nothing but gracious. "I've got great respect for what St. Joe's program is about and what they've done the last couple of years," Hahn said. "They've had a tremendous season this year. Phil's done a great job. I think they deservedly could be in the Top 25 in the country." The Hawks lead the all-time series, 58-48, and eliminated the Explorers from the A-10 tournament in 2000 and 2001. Martelli realizes that will count for nothing come Thursday night. "It's always an energetic experience to compete against a Philadelphia team," he said. "And when elimination is the possibility, the stakes go up." Tom Durso, Saint Joseph's University Communications