WESTCHESTER It seemed like every time St. Joseph senior Jordan Ash put up a shot Friday, it was going in no matter where he took it or how times the ball bounced around the rim.
“I was feeling good,” Ash said. “My teammates were giving me the ball and I was getting good shots in places where I was comfortable.”
The Northwestern-bound guard parlayed those good feelings into a season-high 29 points on 11 of 15 shooting as the Chargers rolled to an 83-67 win over St. Francis de Sales in the opening round of the Chicago Catholic League playoffs at St. Joseph.
“Seemed like every other shot I made was off an assist and I was able to get into a rhythm,” Ash said. “I give all the credit to my teammates for helping me get those shots.”
The Chargers (19-5) needed those points in the first half as the Pioneers (11-12) managed to keep pace. The Pioneers were dominant on the glass and able to convert second-chance points with relative ease.
More Top Picks Best Santoku Knives Under 100 Dollars
Senior guard Tyler Streeter was matching Ash point-for-point in the first half and the Chargers’ guards were unable to stop Streeter from converting layups or pull-up jumpers.
“We gotta get on the floor and play defense,” Chargers coach Gene Pingatore said. “And we played very lethargic tonight. We were giving up too many baskets.”
Ash thought it was a mixture of poor defense on the Chargers’ part, and good offense on the visitors’ part.
“We played terrible defense tonight,” he said. “Gotta give them credit, though. They were relentless and aggressive and we were playing bad defense. Gave up a bunch of second-chance points.’
Ash’s 20 points in the first half helped the Chargers overcome early foul trouble by senior guard Glynn Watson and junior center Nick Rakocevic. After leading 38-28 at the half, the Chargers stepped up their defensive pressure in the second half, particularly against Streeter, and were able to blow open the game. Behind a 9-2 run led by Ash, St. Joseph grabbed a 64-46 lead after three quarters.
“If the other team is coming to play against you, you gotta come out and play,” Pingatore said. “Can’t let them hang around and give them chances.”
Senior guard Joffery Brown had 13 points and Watson and Jarviss Sutton had 10 each.
Streeter took scoring honors with 32 points for the Pioneers. Junior forward Erik Rodriguez had 12 points and senior guard Derrick Dawson had 10.
The Chargers next play De La Salle Sunday at Loyola in the second round of the tournament.