PHILADELPHIA (02/03/03) - There are rivalries and then there is Villanova versus Saint Joseph's. The Big Five's most intense rivalry year-in and year-out tipped off Monday night inside the hallowed halls of The Palestra for the 61st time. And like last year's edition, the game was convincingly one-sided. But fortunately for the passionate Hawk faithful that rocked the storied walls of The Palestra, the outcome was much different. The Hawks raced to a 13-4 start and held a 31-point advantage late in the first half to dominate their archrivals, 92-75. Junior guard Jameer Nelson made his case for the Big Five MVP with a 30-point outburst and sophomore guard Delonte West shook off any talk of his one game absence to score 25 points in 26 minutes of action. With the win, St. Joe's (16-3, 3-0 Big Five) clinches at least a tie for the Big Five Championship with Penn and can claim the title outright for the first time since 1980 with a win over La Salle. "That was a pleasure to be a part of because of the atmosphere. This [The Palestra] is where all the Philadelphia games should be played, all the Philadelphia teams should play each other in this building," head coach Phil Martelli said. "But that's an editorial." It was the first SJU win in the series since December 18, 1994 and Martelli's first career win over the Wildcats (12-8, 2-2). The final score, much closer than the game really was, was the largest Hawk win in the series since a 84-64 victory in January of 1982. It also marked the program's 300th win at The Palestra. A Nelson three kicked off the scoring at the 19:35 mark, giving St. Joe's a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way. The All-American candidate scored eight points and assisted on a freshman Dave Mallon layup to account for 10 of the first 13 points. A 16-0 run put the game out of reach early, as four Hawk trifectas, two by sophomore Pat Carroll (12 points), gave SJU a 40-9 lead with 6:29 to go in the first. At that point in the game, Villanova had connected on just three field goals and had more turnovers than points. The defensive pressure applied by the Hawk guards was too much to handle for the 'Cats, who couldn't get into any sort of rhythm in the first. "The first half was as pretty a basketball that you could play," Martelli said. VU did close the half by outscoring Saint Joseph's but would be too little, much too late. SJU forced Villanova into 17 first half turnovers and held the Blue and White to just 36% shooting from the floor in the half. Nova continued to chip away in the second half, but came no closer than 15 points on a Gary Buchanan three-ball at the 1:47 mark. Martelli was far from pleased about his team's second half performance, as SJU was outscored 52-41 in the stanza, more points than they had given up in six games this season. They also committed 12 turnovers. But the general should be pleased with his team from the charity stripe, an Achilles heel for the Hawks all season. SJU shot 30-for-37 (81%) from the foul line as its guards were a combined 29-for-31. The Hawks also canned a season high 14 threes. "I think we just played an outstanding basketball team," Villanova head coach Jay Wright said. Martelli received solid efforts from junior guard Tyrone Barley (nine points, four assists) in his second straight start. Freshman center Dwayne Jones pulled down eight boards and had two blocks. But it was clearly the Nelson and West show, as one of the nation's top backcourts put on a show for the 8,722 in attendance. They combined to hit 14-of-27 field goals, 9-of-17 from behind the arc, and 18-for-20 from the free throw line. "They have great guards, not good guards, great guards," Wright said. Buchanan led VU with 19 points (17 in the second half) on 7-of-14 shooting. Ricky Wright chipped in with 17 points and eight boards, while Randy Foye added 15. St. Joe's returns to the hardwood on Saturday at Fordham. Daily News Story | Inquirer Story | Daily News Column