Hawks' backcourt on guard at Palestra

Jameer Nelson didn't start too well for St. Joseph's in Saturday's game against the Penn men's basketball team.

A turnover. A charge. And an airball, which caused the Penn student section to ceaselessly chant "airball" every time he touched the ball.

But late in the first half, the six-foot guard ran to the right corner of the court, took a pass from Na'im Crenshaw and calmly drained a three.

He quietly turned to the Penn fans, cupped his hands, and mocked, "Airball."

At that point, the St. Joe's lead was only one, 28-27, but the 8,722 at the Palestra had to have known that the Penn defense was going to have a tough time stopping Nelson, not to mention Hawks backcourt mate Marvin O'Connor.

Nelson finished with 17 points and four assists, while O'Connor scored 18 for the Cityliners. The Quakers defense had trouble containing both players.

"[Nelson] was tremendous down the stretch," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "We needed to do a better job on him."

The Quakers defense did not do a bad job in containing what many believe to be the best backcourt in the nation, especially without junior guard Andy Toole, out four to five weeks after having surgery done on his right foot on Thursday.

When it mattered most, however, the Hawks' dynamic duo used their talent and their experience put down any chances the Red and Blue had for an upset.

With the Quakers within five, 49-44, the Hawks began to pull away with a 12-4 spurt. It was capped when Nelson grabbed the ball after a block by Bill Phillips, and fired it to Crenshaw in the corner. Crenshaw drained the three, and St. Joe's had its biggest lead of the day, 61-48.

"We just started playing basketball like street ball," Nelson said. "By doing that, people just got open."

O'Connor, at only six-foot-four, grabbed 10 rebounds on the day. He led St. Joe's to a 44-31 edge on the glass on the day, with a 24-13 advantage in the second half.

"Coach Martelli really stressed early on that everyone had to get rebounds," O'Connor said. "I just decided, 'Well, I'm going to go get some rebounds.'"

While the Hawks are a team known for their offensive prowess, the tandem of O'Connor and Nelson shut down the Quakers' usually deadly three-point shooting. The Quakers shot only 4-for-16 on the day from behind the arc, with guards Tim Begley, Dan Solomito, and Jeff Schiffner combining for only one three on 11 percent shooting.

"We won the game on the defensive end of the floor," St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli said. "We had to take away the three as much as we could, and we were able to."

One second half play epitomized the game O'Connor and Nelson had on Saturday. Nelson attempted a three, which bounced high off the right side of the rim. But the diminutive guard didn't give up, running into the lane to follow his shot, catching the ball in the air and laying it in for the easy follow. It was one of eight boards on the day for Nelson.

On Saturday afternoon, Nelson and O'Connor were able to use their experience to make plays like that for the Hawks and win the game.

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