PHILADELPHIA (12/6/03) - Jameer Nelson scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half as #12 Saint Joseph's held off a rally by Pennsylvania and won, 67-59, in front of a spirited sold-out crowd at the famed Palestra in the third annual Big 5 Classic. The Hawks remain unbeaten at 5-0 while Penn falls to 2-3. Nelson showed why he could be considered the nation's top player with another solid all-around game and exhibiting leadership down the stretch. The senior had six rebounds, four assists and a career-high eight steals, while shooting 9-for-17 from the field. When Penn closed the gap to 46-42 at the nine-minute mark, Nelson seemed to have a hand in every play. After a Nelson layup, backcourt mate Delonte West scored four straight points. Then Nelson followed with a steal and a layup, another steal, a rebound and another steal before hitting four points in a row to put the Hawks ahead 58-47 with 3:28 to play. Nelson then converted 2-of-4 from the foul line before Pat Carroll (3-for-4) and Tyrone Barley (2-for-2) hit free throws in the final 36 seconds to ice the win. In all, Nelson and West combined for 16 of the Hawks' 18 points in that stretch. The Hawks couldn't find an answer for Penn's three-point shooting, as the Quakers shot 13-for-24 from beyond the arc, led by a 7-for-11 effort from Jeff Schiffner, who led the nation last year in 3-point percentage. Saint Joseph's instead rode the leadership of Nelson and used its defense to force 19 Penn turnovers compared to just nine for the Hawks. West scored 15 points for the Hawks while sophomore Dwayne Jones grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, to mark the first time this season that SJU outrebounded its foe (35-31). The Hawks had an 11-point lead in the first half as they kept Penn scoreless for six minutes. The Quakers got back into it with three consecutive three-pointers from Tim Begley and Schiffner. SJU led at the half, 31-25. Saint Joseph's returns to the Palestra on Tuesday, December 9, for a 4 p.m. matinee game with also unbeaten Boston College. The Eagles defeated Massachusetts today, 76-75, in overtime.