BELLWOOD — Bishop Guilfoyle Academy has been no stranger to starting the boys’ basketball season late recently as their football seasons go long due to recent runs to the state championship game.

This year’s team is no different, but Thursday night the Marauders showed signs they’re starting to hit their stride.

Powered by four single-digit quarters defensively — including a second half shutout – they pounded host Bellwood-Antis, 67-11, in Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference action.

“We’ve been building toward this,” Bishop Guilfoyle coach Ryan Lestochi said. “We’re a little late with the football players coming back. We feel we’re just starting to get into basketball shape and be who we thought we’d be.”

That defensive effort helped spark a strong first quarter. Tyson Lestochi scored on a fast break off a turnover which helped put the Marauders up 18-6 after the opening frame.

Bishop Guilfoyle added on during the second as Connor Okonak got a takeaway, which set up Taurean Consiglio for a bucket on his way to scoring a game-high 15 points.

“It’s not a joke, defense wins championships,” Consiglio said. “We love defense the way we play it and take pride in it. This is not a selfish team at all. We just want to win.”

It was also a time that the Marauders thrived from downtown. Troy Ruggery knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, while Connor Okonak and Consiglio each added one of their own. BG outscored Bellwood by a staggering 30-5 margin in the second to take a 48-11 lead into the break while activating the running clock.

Ruggery scored 11 points while Grant Okonak chipped in with 10 to give the Marauders three scorers in double figures.

After starting the season with a 3-0 mark, Thursday’s loss marked the Blue Devils ninth straight defeat — six of them have been by eight points or less. Coach Tyler Mertiff believes it’s a matter of finding a way to help his kids take that next step toward success.

“BG’s one of the best teams in the state; They buy in to what they do,” he said. “Usually when you’re on skids like this, teams pack it in, the practices are horrible, you just roll the balls out and play.

“We’re not like that. Our practices are intense, we play hard,we come in prepared. I’ve got to get these kids to realize they can compete with anybody. They may not win, but you can challenge yourself just as good as anybody on the court.”

Coach Lestochi is looking forward to helping his squad build momentum for the rest of the season.

“We always say we’ve got to be who we are. We have to play to our standard and our kids really pride themselves on playing defense. I thought we did an excellent job tonight.”

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (67): Kissell 3 0-0 6, Ruggery 4 1-2 11, Krimmel 3 1-2 8, Lestochi 3 0-1 6, Consiglio 7 0-0 15, G. Okonak 5 0-0 10, C. Okonak 1 0-0 3, Misiura 1 0-0 3, Baker 1 0-0 3, Shellenberger 0 0-2 0, Lightner 0 0-0 0, Ianuzzi 0 0-0 0, Walters 0 0-0 0, Wheeler 1 0-0 2, Singer 0 0-0 0, Walters 0 0-0 0, Gioiosa 0 0-0 0. Totals: 29 2-7 67.

BELLWOOD-ANTIS (11): Dorminy 2 1-3 5, Fatzinger 0 0-0 0, Gibbons 0 0-0 0, Shedlock 1 0-0 2, Leper 0 0-0 0, McConnell 2 0-0 4, McClellan 0 0-2 0, Bardell 0 0-0 0, McNelis 0 0-0 0, Schreier 0 0-0 0, Gonzalez 0 0-0 0, Worthing 0 0-0 0, Shanafelt 0 0-0 0, Mountz 0 0-0 0, B. Eckenrode 0 0-0 0, Braim 0 0-0 0, Moore 0 0-0 0, D. Eckenrode 0 0-0 0. Totals: 5 1-5 11.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop Guilfoyle 18 30 11 8 – 67

Bellwood-Antis 6 5 0 0 – 11

3-point field goals: Bishop Guilfoyle 7 (Ruggery 2, Krimmel, Lestochi, C. Okonak, Consiglio, Misiura, Baker)

Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (7-1), Bellwood-Antis (3-9).

Officials: Dan Amerhein, Cliff Kitner, Mark Surike

JV: Bishop Guilfoyle, 53-19. High scorers: Elias Baker, BG, 23; Killian Worthing, BA, 10.