Providing this blog post is my colleague, Matt DeGeorge, who covered St. Joseph (Metuchen, N.J.) vs. Penn Wood Wednesday at the Jameer Nelson Classic:

St. Joseph’s (N.J.) got quite a scare from Penn Wood Wednesday night in the Jameer/Pete Nelson Holiday Classic at Widener University, eking out a 58-57 win.

But for Temple signee Quenton DeCosey, it was an introduction to the Philadelphia basketball season that the 6-5 guard/forward cherished.

DeCosey, a native of Metuchen, N.J., who said he had only played in the Philadelphia area “once or twice” in AAU ball, enjoyed the atmosphere.

“I wanted to try to show Philly what it’s going to be like next year,” he said. “It’s a great atmosphere, it was really exciting.”

DeCosey’s game got off to a slow start, as he picked up two fouls in the game’s first 90 seconds and sat for the rest of the first half, a somewhat surprising hiatus given that the Falcons only use around six players in their regular rotation. He finished with 13 points thanks to a strong second half in which he was a calming influence on the Falcons in withstanding the Patriots' late charge.

In the third quarter, when Penn Wood cut the lead to five, it was a spinning, off-balance jumper by DeCosey that briefly stemmed the tide of the Patriots’ run. He had three baskets in the final six minutes of the game, including a three that stretched the lead to nine with 2:01 to play.

And on the Falcons’ final possesson, it was DeCosey’s hands in which head coach Dave Turco placed the ball, allowing him to create his own shot and draw a foul from Quardiar Sewell. He made one of two from the line, enough for the win.

“I just tried to come out in the second half and be aggressive,” DeCosey said. “I wasn’t able to help my teammates in the first half, so I was just trying to get good shots.”

“Q’s a gamer,” Turco said. “He knows that for us to win, he has to do the little things. He’s getting better at trusting his teammates and getting them the ball in the right positions, and he knows not to force it.”

(Photos: By The Star-Ledger)