Grant Okonak goes up strong in the lane over Nike Craig. Photo for the Mirror by Chuck Meyers

CHAMBERSBURG — As they have in every basketball game this season, the Bishop Guilfoyle Academy Marauders fought and battled tooth-and-nail for 32 minutes Tuesday night.

This time, however, they couldn’t quite get over the hump in their PIAA Class 3A boys semifinal playoff basketball game with Camp Hill Trinity at the Chambersburg High School gymnasium.

After falling behind 10-0 right out of the blocks and by as many as 15 points midway through the second quarter, BG stormed back furiously in the second half by showing the spirit and resilience that has been the trademark of this team.

Trailing, 34-25 entering the fourth quarter, the Marauders staged an eight-point run to draw to within one point, 34-33, with six minutes left. But that was the closest that BG could get, as Trinity showed some mettle of its own down the stretch, and went on for a 50-37 victory.

Led by junior guard Andre Steele’s game-high 23 points, Trinity (26-2) closed the game on a 16-4 run to punch its ticket into Saturday’s 2 p.m. Class 3A state championship game at Hershey’s Giant Center againshit Philadelphia West Catholic, which defeated Notre Dame Green Pond, 76-52 in Tuesday’s other Class 3A semifinal.

Tuesday’s loss ended a very good season for BG, which finished with a 26-5 record, won the District 6 championship and made its mark in school basketball history by reaching the PIAA Class 3A sector’s Final Four.

“It’s not in the team’s DNA to ever give up,” BG coach Ryan Lestochi said of how his squad responded after falling behind 25-10 in the second quarter. “These players always give their best effort. I’m so proud of these guys. They kept fighting until the end tonight.

“This hurts inside for me and for the seniors on this team who I have known forever,” added Lestochi, who thanked the Marauders’ fans and administration for their unwavering support. “These players are as good a group of athletes as any that have ever come through our school, and they’re hurting right now.”

Each time that BG battled back though, Trinity was able to respond. Trailing 25-11 entering the third quarter, the Marauders staged a 14-3 run triggered by 3-point shots from juniors Grant Okonak and bTroy Ruggery, and another by sophomore Alex Krimmel, before pulling to within 28-25 on a putback bucket by senior Taurean Consiglio.

District 3 champion Trinity answered with the next six points, however, as Steele scored off an inside feed, sophomore Nike Craig cashed in a rebound shot, and senior Marcus Yeager canned a pull-up jumper to give the Shamrocks the 34-25 lead entering the final quarter.

Krimmel started the fourth quarter with another 3-pointer, senior Tyson Lestochi got free for a fast-break layup, and Okonak drained a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to pull the Marauders to within 34-33 with six minutes left.

“We believed that we had the right game plan, but we weren’t executing it in the first half,” Coach Lestochi said. “In the second half, we did execute it and things began turning in our favor.”

Trinity, however, had another answer down the stretch. Steele – who surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his high school career with a 3-pointer in the first quarter that gave Trinity its early 10-0 lead – scored off the drive, and, after BG was called for an offensive foul, sophomore Nike Craig converted a pass underneath from Marcus Yeager to put Trinity ahead, 38-31 with 2:01 left.

After a missed BG shot created an empty possession for the Marauders, Trinity senior forward Liam Sexton wound up making two of four free throws in two separate sequences and Steele hit two free throws after a steal to give Trinity an insurmountable 42-33 lead in the final minute.

“This is a big day for me,” Steele said of Trinity’s victory and his reaching the 1,000-point milestone. “I’m so happy for this moment. We’re going to the state championship game, and we want to get it done there.

“Our coach tells us that defense wins championships, and everybody on our team did a great job playing defense tonight,” Steele added. “That’s why we’re (in the state championship game).”

Trinity coach Larry Kostelac commended both teams for their grit and perseverance.

“We got the lead, and we never really relinquished it tonight,” said Kostelac, whose Shamrocks downed BG, 68-60 in a regular-season game in mid-January in Camp Hill. “That team (BG) is very good – we’ve seen them in person during the season – and they cut it really close on us tonight and made us sweat, but to our kids’ credit, they got the stops when we needed them tonight.”

Trinity closed the game on exclamation-point slam dunks by Steele and Craig, who scored 12 points. Okonak led BG with 11 points and Ruggery chipped in 10.

Craig had a game-high nine rebounds, while Consiglio led the Marauders with eight.

BG made just four of 15 floor shots in the first half and only eight of 26 through the first three quarters. The Marauders converted 13 of 35 in the game, while Trinity converted 18 of its 36 floor shots for an even 50 percent.

“Our shots weren’t falling early, and we made some costly turnovers,” Consiglio said. “I love this team – we never give up. It’s been a great season. I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.”

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (37): Consiglio 3 2-3 8, Ruggery 4 1-2 10, Krimmel 2 0-0 6, Kissell 0 0-0 0, G. Okonak 3 3-4 11, C. Okonak 0 0-0 0, Lestochi 1 0-0 2. Totals — 13 6-10 37.

TRINITY (50): Steele 6 10-12 23, Smith 1 0-0 2, Craig 6 0-0 12, Yeager 4 0-0 9, Sexton 1 2-4 4, Felician 0 0-0 0, Lewis 0 0-0 0, Kieff 0 0-0 0. Totals –18 12-16 50 .

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop Guilfoyle 6 5 14 12 — 37

Trinity 14 11 9 16 — 50

3-point goals: Bishop Guilfoyle 5 (Krimmel 2, G. Okonak 2, Ruggery); Trinity 2 (Steele, Yeager).

Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (26-5); Trinity (26-2).

Officials: Mike Baum, Justin Fischer, Randy Harrold.