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Westinghouse seemed to have a case of the big-game jitters Monday, and by the time it settled down it was too late as St. Joseph prevailed 65-57 in the Martin Luther King Dream Classic at Young.

St. Joseph exploded out of the gate, racing to a 19-6 first-quarter lead. But it allowed the Warriors to cut into the lead late.

Westinghouse closed to within 51-41 at the end of the third quarter, and trimmed the deficit to 60-57 on a Dequanis Jackson basket with 1:18 remaining in the fourth quarter. But a steal and a layup by point guard Glen Watson made and a Paul Turner three-point play sealed the win for St. Joseph.

Chargers coach Gene Pingatore said the up-and-down play has been a thorn in the side of his team all season.

“When we are playing the way we are suppose to, we can play with anybody. When we don’t we have problems” Pingatore said. “The emergence of Watson is beginning to pay dividends. He settled things down today and played a great floor game for most of the day. He also got things back under control when we started to take some ill-advised shots.”

“I am starting to understand my role more and the responsibility that comes with being a point guard,” Watson said.

Turner led all scorers with 23 points, Watson had 20 points, eight assists and four steals, and Karriem Simmons added 10 points.

Dewan White led the Warriors with 15 points, and Rickey Battles contributed 13.

“I was impressed with the way [we] kept fighting. [We] didn’t give up,” Westinghouse coach Garland Williams said. “We haven’t been in the gym since Wednesday and it showed early in the game.”