High School Basketball

BG’s Ruggery makes history in Marauder victory

By Scott Franco

sfranco@altoonamirror.com

The Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic boys basketball program has a storied history that added another chapter to its pages on Saturday afternoon. It came in the form of senior Luke Ruggery.

Needing 24 points to become the school's all-time leading scorer in program history, Ruggery finished with 29 points, and he did it in a victory against a 12-3 Richland team in a key Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference game, 73-55, at the Pleasant Valley gymnasium before a packed house.

"I knew he needed 20-something, but we didn't tell him (exactly how many)," BG coach Chris Drenning said. "I told him (Friday) not to worry about it. I told him we would let him know when he got close."

Ruggery, who had 18 points in the first half en route to a 35-25 halftime lead, tied Jonny Hasson's record (1,201 points) on a bucket with nine seconds to play in the third quarter. That made it 48-34 BG (14-2) at that point.

"Coach and I made a decision not to worry about it," Ruggery said. "I really didn't know how many points (I needed). I just wanted to win the game. You can't lose on senior night. That was our main focus."

At the 7:20 mark of the fourth quarter, Ruggery hit a 3-pointer, his third of the game, to put BG up 51-38 and gave him the record. While receiving a standing ovation from the crowd, as well as congratulations from the coaches and his teammates, Ruggery sought out Hasson, who was in the first row at mid-court, opposite the benches.

"Jonny has been coming to our games. He has been here for most of them, and Darren Elvey is here and he's No. 3 (on the list). I didn't go here, but that is what is so neat about this place. It's like a small family, a community," Drenning said.

Ruggery was appreciative of Hasson's presence at the game.

"I've seen him at a few games and I knew he was coming so when it happened, I wanted to shake his hand and thank him for coming. I really appreciated the niceness of that," he said.

Drenning appreciated the fact that his team was firing on all cylinders Saturday, trailing only one time in the game, 2-0. When the first-quarter dust had settled, BG was up 22-12.

"We are no different than anybody else. We talk about quick starts all the time," he said. "Early on when Luke wasn't playing, a lot of our young guys gained a lot of confidence, and now they are confident in themselves."

Caleb Burke, who finished with 31 points for Richland, tried to keep the Rams in the game, but didn't get much help. Mike Montecalvo (12) and Kyle Ruggery (10) were helping out on the Marauder side.

"Our five starters were not mentally prepared to play the game with the energy that BG plays with," said Richland coach Greg Burke, whose club trailed, 48-36, after three quarters. "If you are not playing 5-on-5, a good team will keep a lead on you. It seems if Caleb didn't score, we were getting one shot."

Collin Instone finished with six points for Richland, and teammate Joey Houser had just three points. Drenning thought that was key for his squad.

"Instone is such a nightmare for us because he is so strong and Burke is good with the ball and Houser is an excellent shooter. We would like to take all three away, but if you can take two of those away, you feel better about it," he said.

Game notes: Ruggery and Matt Kenner were honored on senior night. … Jake Felton scored 10 points for the Rams. … BG won at Richland back on Dec. 12. … BG's last four games (Bedford, Bishop Carroll, Forest Hills, Bishop McCort) are all on the road.

RICHLAND (55): Instone 2 2-4 6, Houser 1 0-2 3, Felton 4 0-2 10, Burke 12 6-11 31, Batche 0 0-0 0, Wolfe 0 0-0 0, Bailey 2 0-0 4, Lavander 0 0-0 0, Ford 0 1-2 1. Totals -- 21 9-21 55.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (73): L. Ruggery 9 8-9 29, K. Ruggery 2 4-4 10, Montecalvo 5 0-0 12, Helton 3 0-0 9, Witherspoon 2 0-1 5, Yanoshak 3 0-2 6, Kenner 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0, Woolridge 1 0-0 2, Kiesewetter 0 0-0 0, Negola 0 0-0 0, Adams 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 25 12-16 73

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Richland 12 13 11 19 -- 55

Bishop Guilfoyle 22 13 13 25 -- 73

3-point goals: Richland 4 (Burke, Felton 2, Houser); Bishop Guilfoyle 11 (L. Ruggery 3, K. Ruggery 2, Montecalvo 2, Helton 3, Witherspoon).

Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (14-2), Richland (12-4).

Officials: Bill Pfeffer, Sean Albright, Jack McDougal.

JV: Richland, 65-41. High scorers--Smith, Kiesewetter, BG, 8; Ford, R, 23.