For three quarters Tuesday night, St. Joseph and Nazareth ran neck-and-neck while trading baskets.
The Chargers finally managed to pull away in the fourth for a 83-64 victory to open their 3A St. Joseph Regional.
The Chargers (23-6) never trailed, but also were not able to pull away from the Roadrunners (5-23) for most of the game. A combination of poor defense and sloppy turnovers by the Chargers, as well as terrific overall shooting by the Roadrunners kept Nazareth within 58-51 going into the fourth quarter.
“We didn’t respect them (Nazareth) enough going into the game,” Chargers coach Gene Pingatore said. “And they played a great game. They’re a tough team and they play in a tough conference (ESCC).”
Junior center Nick Rakocevic, at 6-foot-11, put the Chargers on his back in the fourth quarter and scored the first six points and 11 of his game-high 21. He also stepped up his defense with three blocks and five rebounds.
“We expect that from him,” Pingatore said. “He’s one of those guys we’ve come to rely on.”
Senior guard Glynn Watson also had 21 points for the Chargers. All five Chargers starters finished in double figures.
The Chargers will play the winner of Jones and Noble/Bulls for the regional title at 7 p.m. Friday.
Junior forward Christian Davis led the Roadrunners with 20 points and freshman guard Kaleb Thornton had 16.
“I can’t say enough about the effort these kids put out there this season. They battled and did a great job for us this year,” Roadrunners coach John Bonk said.
Chris Vavra is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press
![Hammond’s Phil Taillon will get his chance to run the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority after he was chosen as a top contender for the post during the agency’s 2nd national search in as many years. The board Wednesday approved allowing the search team to enter into contract negotiations after he was selected for the job. Officials expect to finalize the deal at the regular May meeting. Taillon was one of three finalists in the hiring process and was ultimately tapped to replace former President and CEO David Uran, who resigned in December. Taillon and Uran were the two […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/PTB-L-SSCVA-TALLION-0511-01-e1715377218204.jpg?w=295 "Hammond’s Phil Taillon will get his chance to run the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority after he was chosen as a top contender for the post during the agency’s 2nd national search in as many years. The board Wednesday approved allowing the search team to enter into contract negotiations after he was selected for the job. Officials expect to finalize the deal at the regular May meeting. Taillon was one of three finalists in the hiring process and was ultimately tapped to replace former President and CEO David Uran, who resigned in December. Taillon and Uran were the two […]")