BG boys wallop Crushers
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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
The Bishop Guilfoyle Academy boys basketball team is a high-octane offensive juggernaut that attacks opponents from a variety of positions on the floor.
The Marauders often place three or more players in double figures, while shooting the lights out from all over the basketball court, unleashing a frenzied, fast-paced transition game, and playing tenacious defense that creates steals and fast-break layups.
It's a tall order for any opponent to handle, and Bishop McCort was the latest team to get caught in the Marauders' cross-hairs Friday night.
BG improved to 14-3 overall and upped its unbeaten Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference record by placing four players in double figures en route to a 79-49 victory in the opening game of a boys-girls doubleheader at the Jaffa Shrine Center.
The game was never in doubt after the first quarter, with the Marauders -- who got a game-high 17 points from junior Taurean Consiglio, 16 points from senior forward Hamilton Gates, 14 from junior forward Jake Kissell and 11 from sophomore guard Troy Ruggery -- building leads of 48-32 at halftime and 66-41 after three quarters.
"They're a great basketball team that plays hard and is disciplined in all aspects of the game,'' McCort coach Chris Pfeil said of the Marauders. "They got us out of our offense, they share the ball, and have balanced scoring, and we were just not able to keep up with them tonight.''
That has been, and will be, the story for a lot of teams tasked with lining up against the Marauders this season.
"We're a team that continues to have balance in our scoring,'' BG coach Ryan Lestochi said. "Our players are all very unselfish. They don't care who gets shots or who scores. They're the true definition of a team.''
BG rattled off the first 11 points of the third quarter, with senior guard Nick Foor starting the surge with a field goal, Ruggery adding two field goals, and Kissell - who led the Marauders in rebounding with eight — draining a 3-point shot and two free throws, as BG's lead ballooned to 59-32.
The Marauders limited McCort (10-8, 6-8) to just 17 points in the entire second half. Junior Angelo Gallucci led the Crushers with 13 points and junior Nick Dressick added 11.
"We weren't really happy with our defensive effort in the first half,'' Lestochi said. "That was our focus in the second half, when I thought that our intensity on the defensive side of the ball led to some good things for us.''
BISHOP MCCORT (49): Dressick 4 2-2 11, Gallucci 6 1-2 13, Zasadni 2 0-0 4, Radkowski 0 0-0 0, Schmidt 3 2-2 8, Page 1 2-2 4, Laughard 1 1-1 3, Forrest 2 0-0 4, Smith 1 0-1 2, Nest 0 0-0 0, Sakmar 0 0-0 0. Totals - 20 8-9 49.
BISHOP GUILFOYLE (79): Foor 3 0-0 8, Lestochi 1 0-0 2, Consiglio 7 0-0 17, J. Kissell 5 2-2 14, Ruggery 5 1-1 11, Gates 6 3-3 16, G. Okonak 3 2-2 8, C. Okonak 1 0-0 2, Nachtman 0 1-2 1, Marasco 0 0-0 0, Reilly 0 0-0 0, Cacciotti 0 0-0 0. Totals - 31 9-10 79.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bishop McCort 17 15 9 8--49
Bishop Guilfoyle 25 23 18 13--79
3-point goals: Bishop McCort 1 (Dressick); Bishop Guilfoyle 8 (Consiglio 3, Foor 2, J. Kissell, Gates).
Records: Bishop McCort (10-8 overall, 6-8 in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference); Bishop Guilfoyle (14-3, 13-0).
Officials: Anthony Brezovic, Brock Kauffman, Shawn Sinclair.