Bishop Guilfoyle's Brandon Drenning has a favorite spot to shoot 3-pointers.
He liked it even more after hitting seven 3s as Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic beat Bishop Carroll Catholic, 53-50, Thursday night at the Pleasant Valley Gymnasium.
"It always has been left corner," Drenning said of his sweet spot. "But my guys were helping and just kept getting me the ball. It just kept falling."
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Mirror photo by Patrick?Waksmunski
BG’s Patrick Irwin tries to drive past Bishop Carroll’s Marcus Lee Thursday night.
The 5-foot-10 junior finished with 23 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, as the Marauders improved to 12-8 overall and 6-3 in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference. The Huskies fell to 10-10 and 4-6 in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference.
"Brandon continually, throughout the year, has taken really good shots," Marauder coach Josh Baker said. "I think tonight we got the ball in really good spots, got great movement, and again he took quality shots. He's going to make those more times than not. He made a majority of them, and they were big for us."
Drenning hit six of his seven 3-pointers in the second half. One of those came with 30 seconds left to break a 48-48 tie.
"I struggled in the first half, but in the second half, my shot caught fire. It just started to fall," Drenning said.
"They drained some 3-pointers, and we didn't get out and guard them," Carroll coach Cosie Aliquo said. "But you know, I can't say anything really hurt us. They played a well-played game. We played a well-played game. The only thing that hurt us, we came up three points short."
Ryan Lauer hit two free throws with 3.6 seconds, then the Huskies had a chance with four-tenths of a second remaining after a foul. Carroll called a timeout, but an overthrown inbounds pass ended the game.
Lauer finished with 15 points, and Marcus Lee added 14. Lee dominated in the paint in the first half, scoring 10.
"He is getting better every game," Aliquo said about Lee. "And I always say it - he's only a sophomore. That's why I smile about that."
Guilfoyle, which was down at halftime, 17-16, was able to hold Lee to four points in the second half after making adjustments. The Marauders also picked up offensively, scoring 37 points in the second half.
"I think we were doing a lot of the same stuff in the first half compared to the second, we weren't just making any shots," Baker said. "What we talked about at halftime was be a little more organized and aggressive and to trust what we were doing. Those shots would go."
That offensive production increase was helped by Tai Irwin.
"Tai's growth mentally and physically has been really extremely impressive to me throughout his career for us. Today, he played huge," Baker said. "He's played huge the whole way down the stretch for us this year. He was composed. He was physical. He made great decisions. We got him the ball in a timely fashion, in good spots, and he did a great job finishing."
BISHOP CARROLL (50): Lee 6 2-2 14, Maruca 4 0-0 8, Madonna 3 1-1 7, Martinazzi 2 0-0 5, Lauer 5 3-4 15, Dietrich 0 1-2 1, Suckinos 0 0-0 0. Totals -20 7-9 50.
BISHOP GUILFOYLE (53): T. Irwin 8 2-5 18, Nardelli 2 0-0 4, P. Irwin 2 0-0 4, Drenning 8 0-1 23, Patterson 1 0-0 2, Sullivan 0 2-3 2, Rickens 0 0-0 0, Fulare 0 0-0 0, Snyder 0 0-0 0 Totals - 21 4-9 53.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bishop Carroll2 15 16 17 - 50
Bishop Guilfoyle5 11 18 19 -53
3-point goals: Bishop Carroll 3 (Lauer 2, Martinazzi); Bishop Guilfoyle 7 (Drenning 7).
Records: Bishop Carroll (10-10, 4-6 LHAC Section 1); Bishop Guilfoyle (12-8, 6-3 LHAC Section 1).
JV: Bishop Guilfoyle 61-42. High scorers-McCloskey, Snyder, BG 15; Lucas, BC, 13.
