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Altoona pulls away late on BG

By Michael Boytim

mboytim@altoonamirror.com

Altoona was inconsistent in its 55-43 victory over Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic at the AAHS Fieldhouse Tuesday night, but it was at its best late in the game.

The Mountain Lions are hoping that’s how their season plays out, too.

“We want to build up some momentum so we can enter the District 6 playoffs on a roll with some wins,” Altoona’s Jacob Port said. “We have a lot of people doubting us, but we always believe in our locker room that we can win it, and the district championship is still our goal.”

Altoona improved to just 6-12 but won its second straight as the squad celebrated its senior night. Port finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Mountain Lions out-rebounded the Marauders, 45-30.

“I thought this was a great high school basketball game,” Altoona coach Paul Hasson said. “We started out slow and had struggles throughout the year with injuries, but we’ve got to finish strong.”

Bishop Guilfoyle trailed by just one early in the second quarter when Matt Gormley connected on a 3-pointer, but the Mountain Lions scored the next seven points and went on a 12-3 run to end the half.

During the spurt, the Marauders were having trouble offensively with some of the plays coach Chris Drenning was trying to call.

“We have been trying to put some different stuff in against zones, because we have struggled to shoot from the outside,” Drenning said. “We’re trying to use more screens, and we had a sophomore in the game who went the wrong direction.

“If he went the right way, we probably get an open shot, but he didn’t. He’s young, and it’s something we just put in so that’s probably up to me to teach that better.”

Altoona stretched its lead to 33-19 to begin the second half, but the Marauders had a run left in them. Luke Frederick scored on a putback to end the third quarter and cap a 12-5 run for Bishop Guilfoyle that made the score 38-31.

With all the momentum on the Marauders’ side, Altoona opened the fourth quarter with a quick 6-1 run that put the game away.

“We had it to seven and it went to 11 really quickly,” Drenning said. “I called timeout and said it wasn’t our defense. We took two bad shots we shouldn’t have taken. They led to long rebounds that set up their baskets.”

Bishop Guilfoyle’s Brandon Chadbourn led all scorers with 15 points and added 10 rebounds as the Marauders slipped to 7-13.

Isaiah Wansley scored six of his team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter. Jermaine Samuel added 10 points and Bobby Corl scored 11 – all in the first half.

“When I look at the four guys who scored double figures tonight, they are all averaging that for the season,” Hasson said. “We’ve had balanced scoring, and that’s key for us in the stretch run, but I think defensively we are getting better and that’s what is going to carry us.”

How far can it carry the Mountain Lions? Samuel certainly has lofty goals.

“This win means a lot,” Samuel said. “I think we can repeat as district champs if we keep this momentum up.”

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (43): McCloskey 2 2-4 6, B. Chadbourn 5 4-6 15, Wolf 0 0-0 0, Irwin 1 0-0 2, Trybus 1 4-4 6, Frederick 1 0-2 2, Gormley 2 0-0 6, E. Chadbourn 2 1-2 5, Luther 0 0-0 0, Kitt 0 1-2 1, Welteroth 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 0-0 0, Livoti 0 0-0 0. Totals – 14 12-20 43.

ALTOONA (55): Port 3 6-10 12, Wansley 7 0-2 14, Gampe 1 0-0 2, Kirwin 2 0-1 4, Samuel 2 4-9 10, Corl 5 0-0 11, Gehret 1 0-0 2, Queen 0 0-2 0, Luciano 0 0-0 0. Totals – 21 10-24 55.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop Guilfoyle11 6 14 12 – 43

Altoona13 14 11 17 – 55

3-point goals: Bishop Guilfoyle 3 (B. Chadbourn, Gormley 2); Altoona 3 (Samuel, Corl).

Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (7-13); Altoona (6-12).

Officials: Ray Wotkowski, Anthony Brezovec, Sam Zambanini.

JV: Altoona, 44-40. High scorers-Colin Welteroth, BG, 17; Alex Weaver, A, 14.

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