Jan 5, 2003

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Junior guard Jameer Nelson scored 22 points and had a career-high seven steals as Saint Joseph's beat Duquesne 76-56 Sunday in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams.

Delonte West had 17 points and Pat Carroll had 13 for Saint Joseph's (9-1), off to its best start since the 1964-65 team ran off 10 consecutive wins.

Kevin Forney tied his career high with 22 points for Duquesne (6-8), which committed 24 turnovers.

Saint Joseph's led by as many as 17 points in the first half and was up 37-28 at halftime.

Forney scored all of Duquesne's points in a 9-1 run at the start of the second half and the Dukes were within 42-40 on a layup by Elijah Palmer with 14:38 to go.

Nelson then made a layup, followed by a steal and another basket to spark a 16-2 Hawks run that built the lead to 58-42 at the 8:54 mark.

Saint Joseph's opened the game with a 14-2 lead with Nelson scoring the half points. The Hawks' biggest lead was 36-19 with 2:15 left in the first half.

Duquesne, which has averaged 21 turnovers a game this season, has lost six straight and 12 of 13 to the Hawks.