Friday night the Bishop Guilfoyle Academy boys basketball team was down two starters including coach Ryan Lestochi’s son, Tyson, along with Jake Kissell.

They also endured a playoff-like battle against a team they could see in the postseason in LHAC foe Richland when the District 6 postseason tips off next month.

Both teams made the game feel like a back-and-forth battle until BG pulled away in the fourth as Taurean Consiglio scored nine of his game-high 29 points in the fourth as BG outscored the Rams 25-5 in the fourth on their way to an 88-55 triumph at the Pleasant Valley gymnasium.

“That was a great team effort the whole way down the lineup,” Ryan Lestochi said. “Fantastic team effort. Guys played with energy. Every player stepped up and played their role. It was a really great game. I can’t say enough.”

The Marauders made a strong early statement as Alex Krimmel converted a layup as he scored 19 points. Connor Okonak — who filled in as a starter along with his brother Grant — knocked down a 3-pointer to help build a 24-9 lead after the opening frame.

But the Rams answered as Arnold Mugerwa — who drew a visit from Rutgers football coach Greg Schiano at the game — got the bonus free throw. Later in the quarter Noah Lushko got the plus-1 to help cut the deficit to 44-32 at the break.

“They’re a very good team, they’re well coached, they’re disciplined,” Richland coach Zach Rugg said. “We were able to battle for three quarters. In the fourth quarter they got hot and made some stops on defense against us. Just got to keep our heads level.”

Moving ahead to the third that’s when Krimmel took over as Krimmel knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, which helped hold off as he scored eight points in the frame to keep BG ahead 63-50.

“He’s always been a great shooter,” Lestochi said. “He’s really confident in his shot. You could tell today he started off a little slow and then he got one going, then two. He never doubts his shot.

“He’s slowly improving in other pieces of the game, ball handling, particularly defense. He’s still just a young kid that’s got a super high ceiling.”

Consiglio put the game on ice in the fourth as he drew the three-point play. Along with him and Krimmel, Troy Ruggery finished in double figures with 14 and Grant Okonak had 10 while Damon Misiura chipped in 12.

While BG’s focus now moves to Latrobe tonight at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Lestochi was happy to have a chance to get a look at what could come next month in the district postseason.

“They’re obviously in our district, in our classification, so it’s nice to see some teams and get a little bit familiar with them if you have to play them again,” he said. “(I’m) just really happy with our team’s effort today all around.”

RICHLAND (55): McCulty 5 1-1 13, Mugerwa 2 2-3 6, Christian 5 1-3 12, Lushko 4 2-2 13, Hale 3 4-5 10, Bond 0 0 0-0, Brown 0 1-2 1, Lohr 0 0-0 0, Polacek 0 0-0 0. Totals — 19 11-17 55.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (88): Ruggery 6 1-1 14, Krimmel 8 0-0 19, Consiglio 12 3-3 29, G. Okonak 4 2-3 10, C. Okonak 1 0-0 3, Misiura 5 0-0 12, Baker 0 0-0 0, Shallenberger 0 0-0 0, Wheeler 0 0-0 0, Lightner 1 0-0 2. Totals — 37 6-7 88.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Richland 9 23 18 5 – 55

Bishop Guilfoyle 24 20 19 25 – 88

3-point goals: Richland 5 (McCulty 2, Christian, Lushko 2), Bishop Guilfoyle 8 (Ruggery, Krimmel 3, Consiglio 2, Misura 2),

Records: Richland (10-9), Bishop Guilfoyle (13-3).

Officials: Tom Fontaine, Todd Parker, Mike Andrews.

JV: No game