Glenbard South nearly upsets St. Joseph
Glenbard South saved its best boys basketball game of the season for its last.
The No. 11 Raiders threw a scare into sixth-seeded St. Joseph before falling 68-65 at the Class 3A Nazareth regional semifinals Tuesday in LaGrange Park.
“They played very well,” St. Joseph coach Gene Pingatore said of the Raiders. “They played harder than we did. They came up with every loose ball. They outrebounded us. They made their shots. They wanted it more than we did. They deserved to win when it came down to it.”
“Nothing else I can ask for right there,” Raiders coach Wade Hardtke added. “That’s what we talked about all year. We put ourselves in a spot down the stretch to do what we wanted to do, and tonight just wasn’t our night. Almost.”
Glenbard South (13-13) made it clear early St. Joseph would not have an easy night, taking a 22-17 lead after one quarter. The Chargers came back to lead 39-35 at halftime despite Raiders senior Dusko Despot scoring 16 of his 23 points in the first 16 minutes.
“We knew we were underdogs coming in,” Despot said. “No one believed in us. We just stuck to the game plan of get back on defense, team rebounding, boxing out, keeping the big guy off the boards, attacking north-south and adjusting to the press.”
“I thought in the first half there were a couple of times we were about to maybe show our demise and I thought I was going to have to burn a timeout,” Hardtke said. “We got a great look and Dusko scored and we regained our composure. They did a great job of growing up and competing and just leaving it all out there tonight. I couldn’t be prouder of that bunch.”
The Chargers (19-8) looked to pull away in the third quarter, taking a 9-point lead, but Glenbard South fought back to narrow the margin to 51-46 going into the final period, then kept the momentum going into the fourth quarter.
“They played a (heck) of a game,” Pingatore said. “I warned the kids for two days before, they didn’t give them enough respect. That’s what happens. That’s why you have upsets.”
Glenbard South looked like it might get that upset, taking three leads in the fourth quarter, the last on a Despot free throw with 3:08 to play. But 26 seconds later St. Joseph senior Reggie Johnson drained a pair of free throws to give the Chargers the lead for good.
“I think that’s the best basketball game I’ve ever been a part of,” Hardtke said. “Back and forth, both teams laying it out there and playing hard. It was a great game. It’s a shame somebody had to lose.”
Jon Berrospi scored 14 points for Glenbard South, and Matt Jeske and Dominque Cisneros-Watson added 10 apiece. Despot grabbed 8 rebounds.
Johnson led all scorers with 30 points, and sophomore Paul Turner added 23 for St. Joseph.
“They’re a load. They’re athletic,” Hardtke said of the Chargers. “But literally I don’t think there’s anything else that those guys could’ve done. We rebounded the best that we have, we executed. It was a whole lot of fun.”