The rematch between St. Joseph and St. Rita in the semifinals of the 54th annual Proviso West Holiday Tournament had a much different ending than their first meeting earlier this month.
The Catholic League foes met for the second time this season Friday night, but a full St. Joseph squad made a huge difference.
Second-seeded St. Joseph won 72-65 to advance to the Proviso West championship at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against top-seeded Stevenson (10-0), a 66-37 winner over Kenwood in the other semifinal. The Patriots will attempt to win their second consecutive tournament title, while St. Joseph (11-1) reached the final for the 12th time and the first since winning three consecutive titles from 2004-06.
“It’s always a good feeling. We’ve been there [to the final] before. It never gets old,” St. Joseph coach Gene Pingatore said.
The Chargers’ 6-11 junior center Nick Rakocevic, who came off the bench for disciplinary reasons in the first meeting with St. Rita, started the semifinal and finished with a season-high 26 points with six rebounds.
St. Rita (7-2) will play Kenwood (9-3) in the third-place game at 6 p.m., but the Mustangs will likely be without 6-9 starting senior Myles Carter, who suffered an injury to his left knee with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter and needed help off the court.
After Carter left, St. Rita pulled within 47-40, then 51-46 early in the fourth quarter, but could not sustain the rally.
Kentucky recruit Charles Matthews had 24 points and eight rebounds after a 32-point performance against St. Joseph on Dec. 12 when the Mustangs won 80-61 in Chicago.
Nebraska-bound guard Glynn Watson and Joffery Brown missed that game, while Rakocevic entered midway through the first quarter.
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“That one game I [was punished] for missing a practice. That was my fault,” Rakocevic said. “That was a little fluke. We got everything done tonight. We had the right guys back.”
Watson had nine points and Brown scored 15, while Northwestern-bound guard Jordan Ash added 14 points with eight assists.
“Obviously, they had the advantage of playing with two starters [this time],” St. Rita coach Gary DeCesare said. “Our guys were aware of that. They wanted it more than we did.”
The semifinal matched the Mustangs, who were making their first Proviso West tournament, against St. Joseph in its 44th appearance. The Chargers have won nine Proviso West titles and finished second twice.