Basketball

BG coach wants to use loss to build for next year

By Michael Boytim

mboytim@altoonamirror.com

CLARION -- There were several times Wednesday night at Clarion University's Tippin Gymnasium that Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic seemed ready to deliver a knockout blow to District 10 champion Girard.

In the end, that final nail in the coffin never came and Girard escaped with a 55-52 overtime victory against BG that ended the Marauders' season in the PIAA Class 3A second round.

"Sometimes to get hard things, you have to suffer a little failure," Bishop Guilfoyle coach Ryan Lestochi said. "We feel we failed. I hope that motivates us to do some small things to take the next step. These guys are pretty committed. They really like each other. We feel we came a long way in 10 months playing the style we wanted, and I think we'll only get better."

The Marauders led by seven at halftime, by five with less than three minutes to go in regulation, had a chance to win at the buzzer, and led by four in overtime, but Girard's trio of Kenny Goody, Nate Edwards and Geremia Dell'omo never let up.

The only three Yellowjackets to score had an answer for every BG push. Girard tied the game going into the fourth quarter, responded to a 6-0 Marauders run highlighted by a Trevor Rehm dunk with a 6-1 run to end the quarter and then rallied again in overtime. They did it all despite starting guard Ryan Carr fouling out and Goody and Dell'omo both playing with four fouls.

"He knew we had to be physical with them, because they had a huge size advantage," Girard coach Mark Schrier said. "We took some bad fouls at times, but it speaks to the composure of those guys. There were a couple guys playing with three and four fouls. To be able to execute at the end and still play good defense was impressive."

Bishop Guilfoyle's best chance to win probably came on its final possession of regulation.

After Goody tied the game on a layup with 5.6 seconds left, the Marauders called a timeout and set up a play that saw Tyson Lestochi get a pass while on the move. He got an open look at a left-handed layup, but it rolled around the rim and out and a putback was after the buzzer.

"We had a nice set where we could have an option for Tyson or (Jude Haigh) getting the ball," Ryan Lestochi said. "We wanted to get them going downhill. We got it going downhill. Unfortunately, we got a good look and didn't finish it."

In the extra period, Jake Kissell scored the first four points to give the Marauders a 50-46 lead. Kissell and Rehm finished with 13 points each.

"Jake was great tonight," Lestochi said. "He shot a 3-pointer early, and I told him no more 3s. I wanted him attacking the hoop. Once he put his head down and started attacking, he made some big plays for us."

But with 1:15 left, Dell'omo hit a 3-pointer, his third of the game, to pull Girard within one, and Goody stole the ball, was fouled and made both free throws just four seconds later. From there, the Yellowjackets played keep away and went 4-for-4 from the foul line.

Haigh missed a contested 3-pointer trying to tie it on the final possession of the game.

"Bishop Guilfoyle is a great team," Schrier said. "They have some really lethal scorers out there. Haigh is probably the best player we have seen all year. I'm proud of my guys to sticking to the plan and executing in the clutch moments."

Haigh and Tyson Lestochi each scored 11 points for the Marauders. Rehm had a game-high 12 rebounds.

"It definitely hurts a lot," Rehm said. "But knowing the guys we have coming back, we're confident we'll do better next year. We just lost control and got ahead of ourselves a little too much. Their guards were tough. It was hard to help off them, because they had shooters to pass to."

Bishop Guilfoyle got just one 3-pointer, from Lestochi, and Haigh was held to three field goals.

"We generally don't shoot many 3-pointers," Ryan Lestochi said. "We're generally an attacking team, and they did a great job on (Haigh) chasing him and keeping a guy on him. He shoots the majority of our 3-pointers, and they made it tough on him. That team played an outstanding game."

No Bishop Guilfoyle seniors played extended minutes this season, but the class had a major impact on the team.

"I want to thank the seniors," Lestochi said. "They were outstanding. Kurt Ruggery, Tyson Rehm and Torin Robertson were great all year. Did they get to play as much as they would like or they would have at other programs? No. But they were great for us and leaders all year. They practiced hard and were supportive of the team. We're going to miss those guys."

Girard, which got 24 points from Edwards and 20 from Dell'omo, will play Mohawk, a 55-50 winner over Ellwood City, in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

BG (24-5) finished the season as the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference champions but lost in the District 6 Class 3A semifinals and made it one round further than it did a year ago when the school parted ways with former coach Chris Drenning following the season.

"I'd like to thank the BG community," Ryan Lestochi said. "They were super supportive of me and this team in a tough situation. Tons of BG people reached out to me and were supportive. They were coming out to the games. We can't thank those people enough."

GIRARD (55): Carr 0 0-0 0, Edwards 10 3-3 24, Goody 3 5-8 11, Balogh 0 0-0 0, Dell'omo 8 1-2 20, Kelley 0 0-0 0, Pratt 0 0-0 0, Kibbe 0 0-0 0. Totals--21 9-13 55.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (52): Lestochi 4 2-2 11, Haigh 3 5-6 11, Tr. Rehm 5 3-4 13, Gates 0 0-2 0, Consiglio 1 0-0 2, C. Kissell 1 0-0 2, J. Kissell 6 1-5 13, T. Ruggery 0 0-0 0, Foor 0 0-0 0. Totals--20 11-19 52.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Girard 8 7 20 11 9 — 55

Bishop Guilfoyle 15 7 13 11 6 — 52

3-point goals: Girard 4 (Dell'omo 3, Edwards); Bishop Guilfoyle 1 (Lestochi)

Records: Girard (25-2); Bishop Guilfoyle (24-5)

Officials: Dave Wright, Brian Nolan, Anthony Zimbardi