CINCINNATI (AP) (1/17/03) - Junior Delonte West made every shot he took -- 12 from the field, three from three-point range and six from the line -- for a career-high 33 points, and No. 6 Saint Joseph's moved to 15-0 with an 81-73 victory over Xavier in front of a national television audience and a sold-out crowd (10,250) at the Cintas Center. West's 12-for-12 performance tied the Saint Joseph's record of field goals without a miss set by Bryan Warrick against North Carolina-Charlotte on January 16, 1982. He also set a new Atlantic 10 record, breaking the mark of 11-for-11 set by Kenny Green of Rhode Island on January 18, 1988. Jameer Nelson added 28 points in a two-guard attack that rallied the Hawks (15-0, 5-0 Atlantic 10) from a rare second-half deficit. Xavier (9-6, 1-2) stunned the conference's stingiest defense by hitting 3-pointers and pulling ahead 41-35, the Hawks' biggest halftime deficit of the season. West and Nelson drew groans and "aahs" of amazement from the capacity crowd as they helped the Hawks pull away with their uncanny shooting. Nelson shot 11-for-18 from the field as he and West made 23 of the Hawks' 30 field goals. The duo dominated the game, and by combining for seven assists, had a hand in every single SJU basket. "What you saw today was the best player in America and the best backcourt in America," said Hawks' coach Phil Martelli. "This was an exercise in toughness - to play in this atmosphere, to shoot 60 percent and to respond defensively." Lionel Chalmers hurt the Hawks in the first half, scoring a team-high 15. But with senior stopper Tyrone Barley guarding him in the second half, Chalmers hit just two field goals the rest of the way. "Tyrone Barley was the unsung hero with his defensive play," said Martelli. The Hawks hadn't won on Xavier's court since Feb. 17, 1973, losing on their last six trips. They became only the fourth visiting team to win at the Cintas Center in its four seasons, joining Massachusetts, Cincinnati and Richmond. Xavier is 47-4 on its court. There were seven ties and seven lead changes. Xavier led by as many as nine in the first half, when it made six of its seven 3-point attempts. West made four free throws in a 10-point spurt that helped St. Joseph's pull away in the closing minutes. St. Joseph's is off to best start in school history and the second-best in Atlantic 10 history, topped only by Massachusetts' 26-0 run in 1995-96. The longest overall winning streak in school history is 16 games, in 1964-65. Romain Sato scored 14 points and provided Xavier's best moment of the game -- a turnaround jumper from the baseline that gave the Musketeers a 41-35 halftime lead. Xavier players sprinted off the floor and jubilantly slapped hands with students as they headed for the locker room. Nelson's crimson jersey was soaked through as he rallied the Hawks early in the second half. He drove and passed to Dwayne Jones for an uncontested dunk, then had a steal and layup that tied it at 49. West hushed the crowd by driving the baseline for a left-handed layup, had a putback off one of Nelson's rare misses, and made a three-point play that put the Hawks ahead 65-60 with 7:40 left. At that point, Nelson and West each had 27 points and were a combined 22-of-27 from the field. Sato's fastbreak layup put Xavier ahead one last time, 71-70 with 3:08 left, but Pat Carroll's 3-pointer started the clinching 10-point run.