By Michael Boytim

mboytim@altoonamirror.com

When offense is hard to come by, effort and desire often take over.

Whether it is on the football field or the court, one would be hard pressed to find an athlete in Blair County who exhibits both traits better than Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic senior Karson Kiesewetter.

With the Marauders down by two and less than a minute to play, Kiesewetter out-battled two Johnstown players for an offensive rebound and fired a pass all in one motion to Patrick Haigh in the corner. Haigh, held in check most of the night and without a 3-pointer in the game, drilled the outside shot to put BG ahead by one in an eventual 49-47 victory Wednesday over the previously unbeaten Trojans at Pleasant Valley gymnasium.

“The first guy I’m always looking for is Pat,” Kiesewetter said. “He’s that good. I saw him in the corner with two guys on me, and I knew if I hit him, he’d make it. That’s just how good he is. It’s just like football season. Throw to a great athlete, let them make the play and make me look good in the end.”

Haigh added a free throw after his younger brother Jude took a charge on Johnstown’s next possession to set the final score.

“I was trying to get open all night and get a look,” Patrick Haigh said. “Karson made an amazing pass. It’s my job to hit the shot, and I’m glad I could get one to fall. It was a struggle to get open all night for both teams. Any time you get open, you have to be able to hit the shot.”

After starting most of Bishop Guilfoyle’s games last season, Kiesewetter came off the bench Wednesday and made an impact.

“He came in and immediately got two offensive rebounds and kickouts,” Bishop Guilfoyle coach Chris Drenning said. “(Jude Haigh) made a 3, and Trevor (Rehm) made a layup off of those. Those are the plays that don’t show up on the scoresheet.”

Johnstown coach Ryan Durham said plays like Kiesewetter was making all game were the key to the contest.

“The game came down to offensive rebounding,” Durham said. “When we needed to get rebounds, we couldn’t get it. It created second-chance opportunities, especially in the last minute of the game. When you don’t rebound, and you’re giving a team that can shoot second and third chances, it’s hard to find shooters after an offensive rebound.”

Kiesewetter, the quarterback of the football team, is serving as the veteran leader for a very young Marauders bench and was ready in the big moment.

“When plays break down like that, we practice that,” Drenning said. “We know what spots we want to fill, and I hope that helped in that situation. Karson made a great play and a great pass. I was standing on the baseline and was calling timeout while it was still in the air. You could see it was going in.”

Following Patrick Haigh’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 31.3 seconds left, Jude Haigh, who finished with a team-high 22 points, took a charge on a Donte Tisinger drive to the basket that would have been his fifth foul if it went the other way.

“I thought the last play where they called (Tisinger) for a charge, I think (Jude Haigh) might have been a little under the basket,” Durham said. “But when you leave it up to a subjective call, things like that can happen. You live and you learn.”

Patrick Haigh made one of two at the line, and Nyerre Collins’ 3-pointer at the buzzer went off the front of the rim as the Marauders ran on to the court to celebrate.

“This is a great win,” Patrick Haigh said. “We have been looking forward to this one. We know that’s a really good team. I’m happy we gave our fans a win.”

Bishop Guilfoyle led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter before Johnstown picked up its defensive intensity and eventually took the lead on Tisinger’s layup with five minutes to play.

Tisinger, who finished with a game-high 24 points, hit two free throws with 1:08 left to put Johnstown ahead by two before Haigh’s 3-pointer. Before that shot, Bishop Guilfoyle’s only made field goal in the fourth quarter was Rehm’s traditional three-point play with 4:22 left that put the Marauders up by one.

Rehm, a sophomore, made it tough on Johnstown in the paint. He finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

“I don’t know how many blocked shots he had, but he was a real presence inside,” Drenning said. “He’s growing up. At the beginning of the year, he was so nervous. Every game he’s improving. I told him that progress in basketball is rarely made in leaps. You get a little better here, a little better there. He’s developing a little bit at a time. He’s a much better player than he was six weeks ago, and I think six weeks from now, he’s going to be an even better player. You can’t teach his size, footwork and athleticism.”

Both teams are now 11-1 and have one loss in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference. They do not play again this regular season but could meet in the LHAC playoffs.

“We’re starting to figure ourselves out,” Drenning said. “I said we wanted to be in the game with four minutes to go to see how we react. We were, and I’m very pleased with how we played.”

JOHNSTOWN (47): J. Collins 3 3-4 9, N. Collins 3 2-4 9, Tisinger 8 6-6 24, Dixon 2 1-2 5, Braswell 0 0-0 0, Alberter 0 0-0 0, Stalworth 0 0-1 0, Robinson 0 0-0 0. Totals — 16 12-17 47.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (49): J. Haigh 7 4-5 22, P. Haigh 4 2-5 11, Rehm 4 2-3 10, Foor 2 0-0 6, Woolridge 0 0-0 0, Kiesewetter 0 0-0 0, Ruggery 0 0-0 0, Consiglio 0 0-0 0, C. Kissell 0 0-0 0. Totals — 17 8-13 49.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Johnstown 8 13 13 13 — 47

Bishop Guilfoyle 18 7 12 12 — 49

3-point goals: Johnstown 3 (N. Collins, Tisinger 2); Bishop Guilfoyle 7 (J. Haigh 4, Foor 2, P. Haigh).

Records: Johnstown (11-1); Bishop Guilfoyle (11-1, 7-1 in LHAC).

Officials: Ray Hoppel, Steve Schaff, Dave Pray.

JV: Johnstown, 57-52. High scorers–Amire Robinson, J, 3; Kurt Ruggery/Hamilton Gates, BG, 12 each.