Courtesy photo The BG boys basketball team and coaching staff celebrate Taurean Consiglio's milestone night.

JOHNSTOWN — Taurean Consiglio is a tough lad. Resilient, too.

The Bishop Guilfoyle Academy senior reached the 1,000-point career mark early in a pivotal second quarter that lifted the Marauders to a 45-36 victory against Greater Johnstown in a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference basketball semifinal playoff game on Thursday at Doc Stofko Gymnasium.

Bishop Guilfoyle plays Forest Hills for the conference championship at 8 p.m. Saturday at Saint Francis University.

“It’s going to be a great match-up. We played twice last year. We played them in the conference semifinals and the district championship last year,” Bishop Guilfoyle coach Ryan Lestochi said.

Bishop Guilfoyle defeated the Rangers, 78-69, on Feb. 13 a year ago. Forest Hills countered with a 69-58 victory in the District 6 Class 3A championship game on Feb. 28.

“They’re a really good team. They have a stud for a player in Dylan Stohon. Hopefully, we’re ready,” Lestochi said.

“I love competition. Challenges are great, and I can’t wait to be on the floor,” Consiglio said.

Consiglio has overcome a skein of injuries that make his achievement that much more remarkable. He tore his triceps twice, once in April and later during the second week of football season.

“I didn’t think I would be able to play at all this year. So it’s a blessing and I’m super grateful to be in this position,” he said.

Lestochi voiced high praise for Consiglio, who led all scorers with 20 points while he grabbed eight rebounds and produced four steals.

“He’s our best player. We think he’s the best player in the area. He does it on both ends of the floor. I know he scored a thousand points. But he’s as good a defender as you’ll see. It’s great to have him on our team,” Lestochi said.

Johnstown coach Ryan Durham calls himself a fan of Consiglio. So Durham was not surprised that Consiglio reached the 1,000-point mark.

“He’s a fantastic player. I think he’s been a fantastic player for as long as he’s been there. I’m glad to see he recovered from his football injuries and is able to have the basketball season he is having. I’m a big fan of his as a basketball (coach),” he said.

Consiglio hit a 3-point field goal at the 5:56 mark to reach the coveted milestone. The basket tied the score at 16-16 and came as part of an 8-0 run that lifted Bishop Guilfoyle to an 18-16 lead.

The Marauders forced 13 turnovers.

“Timely turnovers killed us. Having a pass stolen for a (basket) on the other end helps them get going,” Durham said.

“We kept doing what we were doing, We took care of the ball whenever we have pressure. But overall I thought we did pretty well,” Consiglio said.

Messiah Armstrong’s 3-point field goal represented all the scoring for Johnstown in the second quarter, which ended the Trojans behind, 25-19.

“We really didn’t do anything different. We continued to play hard, pressure them, and we hoped it would wear on them over the course of time,” Lestochi said.

“We didn’t take advantage of our opportunities. Tonight was a night where we will look back at makeable shots, layups, fast break situations where we were getting the ball slip out of our hands,” Durham said.

The Marauders, who defeated Johnstown, 56-38, on Jan. 3 in Altoona, advanced the lead to 39-26 at the end of three. Johnstown drew no closer than seven, 43-36, with less than a minute to go.

“Going into the game if you would have asked me if they had 45 points if we would have been in pretty good shape to win that, I would have said, ‘Yeah. We’re going to be in pretty good shape to win that,’ ” Durham said.

Jake Kissell added eight points and two blocked shots for Bishop Guilfoyle. Amire Robinson led the Trojans with 12 points.

The lead switched hands seven times in the first quarter. Amier Robinson’s baseline drive ignited a 6-0 run that helped the Trojans assume a 16-10 lead entering the second period.

“At the beginning they started in that little zone and switched to a man. It slowed us up and broke our rhythm a little bit. Once settled into the game and figured it out, we started to play the way we expect to play,” Lestochi said.

“When you have a lead like that, we should be building on it. Instead, we’re turning the basketball over. And that’s leading to easy buckets for them,” Durham said.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (45): Consiglio 9 1-3 20, Ruggery 3 0-0 6, Krimmel 1 0-0 2, G.Okonak 1 4-4 6, Kissell 4 0-0 8, C.Okonak 1 0-0 3, Lightner 0 0-0 0. Totals – 19 5-7 45.

JOHNSTOWN (35): K.Armstrong 2 0-0 4, Braswell 3 3-4 9, Am.Robinson 5 1-1 12, Ashcom 2 2-2 8, M.Armstrong 1 0-0 3, Dudley 0 0-0 0, Hill 0 0-0 0. Totals – 13 6-7 36.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

Bishop Guilfoyle 10 15 14 6 – 45

Johnstown 16 3 7 10 – 36

3-point field goals: Bishop Guilfoyle 2 (Consiglio, C.Okonak), Johnstown 4 (Ashcom 2, Am.Robinson, M.Armstrong).

Officials: Cliff Kitner, Jim Racchini, Mark Surike.

Team records: Bishop Guilfoyle (20-3, 17-1 LHAC), Johnstown (16-4, 15-3 LHAC).