The Saint Joseph's Hawks proved yesterday that they have other weapons besides preseason first-team All American Jameer Nelson.
With the senior guard struggling from the floor, his backcourt teammate Delonte West stepped up, finishing with a season-high 27 points and nine rebounds as No.12 St. Joseph's defeated Boston College, 67-57, in a battle of unbeaten teams at the Palestra.
Despite two starters in major foul trouble -- junior guard Pat Carroll and sophomore center Dewayne Jones sat out the majority of the second half with four fouls each -- the Hawks (6-0) took advantage of their fast-paced offense and held the Eagles' (6-1) inside game in check.
West's output was "a big number," considering he is still battling a nagging injury from the beginning of the season, St Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said.
"He's still not a hundred percent physically, that high ankle sprain is still lingering," Martelli said. "It's significant that he can score the ball as he does."
Nelson was held to just 13 points and seven assists on 4-for-16 shooting from the field. Despite his lack of impressive numbers, however, he still managed to make his presence felt.
Nelson's dish to senior guard Tyrone Barley for a fast-break layup with 11:26 remaining in the second half established him as St. Joseph's new all-time assists leader (584), breaking Rap Curry's previous school mark of 580. The assist came after Nelson stole the ball from Eagles guard Steve Hailey, and put St. Joe's up by 10, 49-39.
"I couldn't even react to [breaking the record] when I heard it," Nelson said. "It was a tight game and I had to keep focusing. Right now I'm excited... and very grateful that it happened."
Nelson's assist triggered an 8-0 St. Joe's spurt after Boston College cut a 14-point first-half deficit to 47-39 with 12 minutes remaining in the contest.
But while Nelson provided the intangibles -- steals, assists and penetration -- it was West who exploded for 15 second-half points to seal the Hawks' victory.
With 9:36 to play, the junior leaped over two defenders to tip in a missed three-point attempt by Nelson. His acrobatic layup in the paint with just under nine minutes remaining gave St. Joe's its biggest lead of the game, 55-39.
Martelli also credited St Joseph's junior forward John Bryant, who held the Eagles' leading scorer on the season, sophomore forward Craig Smith, to just two points on 1-for-7 shooting from the field.
Freshman forward Jared Dudley led the Eagles with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The game was held at the Palestra based on an agreement between Martelli and Boston College coach Al Skinner.
Skinner, who previously coached in the Atlantic 10 conference at Rhode Island, told Martelli that he would never play at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse on the St. Joseph's campus.
Since the Eagles had scheduled a home-and-home with St. Joseph's, the two coaches agreed to play at the Palestra with an early starting time of 4 p.m.
"I actually like the Palestra better than I like home court," West said. "When you step in here, so many great players have been on this floor before me, you've got to bring it every time you step on the court."
