New York ? Jameer Nelson lived up to the hype.

The second-leading vote-getter on the AP’s preseason All-America team had 20 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists and a ton of oohs and aahs in leading No. 17 Saint Joseph’s to a 73-66 victory Friday over No. 10 Gonzaga in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

The senior guard struggled with his shot in the first half but more than made up for it in the second, seeming to come up with every big play the Hawks needed in the teams’ season opener.

“People roll their eyes when I self-promote our kids, but he’s the best in America because he leads, and he believes the reason you play basketball is to make your team win,” Saint Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli said.

Nelson’s best sequence came when he drew a charge at midcourt, then took the inbounds pass and made a drive through traffic that left the crowd of 10,328 at Madison Square Garden standing and cheering.

“It was great, probably the best game of this season so far,” Nelson said, adding comedian to his other talents.

More than 4,000 Saint Joseph’s fans bought tickets and they turned the building in New York into Philadelphia’s Hawk Hill for a night. The university, with an enrollment of 3,800, was the big school for the night.

“That shows the passion our people have for Saint Joe’s,” Martelli said. “You have to realize there were more people here tonight than will be at any home game we’ll have this year.”

The Saint Joseph’s Fieldhouse has a capacity of 3,200.

Gonzaga's Adam Morrison, right, looks for an opening around Saint Joseph's John Bryant during the first half. St. Joseph's won, 73-66, Friday in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“There was nobody left in Chester tonight,” Nelson said, referring to his hometown.

This was the third straight year these schools met. Although this one wasn’t as close as the last two that were decided by a total of four points with the Saint Joseph’s win going overtime, it did get nervous for the Hawks.

They went five minutes without scoring, and the Bulldogs closed an 11-point deficit to 66-61. But Pat Carroll banked in a three-pointer from just in front of the Saint Joseph’s bench with 3:02 to play, and the outcome was never really in doubt.

“I called ‘Bank,”‘ Martelli said. “Shoot it enough and you’re going to get lucky.”

Delonte West added 16 points for the Hawks, while Carroll and Tyrone Barley each had 12.

Cory Violette had 13 points and 15 rebounds for Gonzaga. Senior guard Blake Stepp, the West Coast Conference player of the year last season, struggled through a 2-for-12 shooting night and had eight points.

“We didn’t knock down as many shots as we would have liked to but we had a lack of production and mobility to bring the ball into the post,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

Nelson finished 6-for-20 from the field but that didn’t bother the fans who chanted “You can’t guard him” at any of the Gonzaga defenders that had the assignment.

No. 22 Pittsburgh 71, Alabama 62

New York — Carl Krauser, replacing four-year starter Brandin Knight at point guard, scored a career-high 21 points in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

Jamie Dixon got the win in his first game as head coach of the Panthers. He replaced former boss Ben Howland, who went to UCLA after four seasons at Pittsburgh.

The Panthers struggled from three-point range, missing their first 13 tries before Krauser finally hit one from beyond the arc to give the Panthers a 39-35 lead with 11:08 to play. They didn’t quite catch on fire from long range, but they did make three in a 2:40 span to go up 59-53 with 2:10 left.

The last of the three-pointers was by Jaron Brown, and that was Pittsburgh’s last field goal of the game.