And update on Nazareth

For Nazareth, a Loss Not Reflected in the Score

They lost their coach in January and will lose their school in June.

And Thursday night in Brooklyn, the Lady Kingsmen of Nazareth lost their city basketball crown.

“There are a lot of hard tears falling in our locker room right now,” Lauren Best, a Nazareth assistant, said after her team was stunned by Christ the King, 54-53, at Bishop Ford High School. The loss came in the semifinals of the Catholic High School Athletic Association Brooklyn/Queens Division I girls tournament.

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High school budget reality

From Tom Dowd and Staten Island Live: Daggett mulls next move while worrying about his players

Whether Daggett will be coaching anybody next winter is the part that’s still up for grabs.

The Archdiocese announced the closing of St. Peter’s in February and Daggett coached a heartbroken team through the final month of its season while generations of alumnae had filled the stands to say goodbye to the girls’ basketball program that set the standard on Staten Island.

But it wasn’t until last week that a group of alums announced they were ending their efforts to raise $1 million to keep the school open at a new location.

For anybody who was holding out hope, that made it final. It was a longshot that Daggett had never expected would hit. But teenagers are different.

“I think the kids probably thought it was,” said Daggett. “I don’t know if I ever thought it was. They certainly were trying.”

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A little national-local high school news

Naz coach gives first comments on recruiting investigation in Post Q&A

Apache Paschall has been mostly quiet on the topic of the league investigation looming over his head. The Nazareth coach has been under a strict gag order from his principal to not address the pending decision by the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Eligibility and Infractions Committee.

But Tuesday night, on the eve of what is expected to be his judgment day, Paschall sat down for an exclusive interview with The Post. In this Q&A, the head man of the nationally ranked Lady Kingsmen addresses everything from the investigation to his health to how this season has been the hardest of his decade-long career.

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