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When two teams are evenly matched, high school basketball coaches will tell you it's hard to beat a team three times in one season.
The Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic boys team found that out Thursday night at home against Penn Cambria.
Playing in the semifinals of the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference playoffs, the Panthers, who lost twice during the regular season to the Marauders, jumped out to a 20-6 first-quarter lead and finished the night with a 68-52 win, putting them in Saturday night's finals against Richland.
"It's been about 17-plus years since we've won one. We've played for them, but haven't won one," Penn Cambria coach Jim Ronan said.
Bishop Guilfoyle coach Chris Drenning knew of the difficulty such a hole made for his Marauders.
"You can't fall behind 20-4. Full credit to Penn Cambria. They played well. They were ready," he said. "We played hard, but we were on our heels, and they were on their toes."
Behind Garrett Harrold and Mason McCarthy, Penn Cambria (19-4) was up 14-2 by the 3:33 mark of the first frame. Harrold had seven of his 19 points while McCarthy netted six of his seven points.
"We challenged him (Harrold) before the game. We challenged him to be that dude, the guy you want to put a team on their back and he did," Ronan said. "He's one of the best athletes around.
Guilfoyle (18-5) got somewhat back into the game midway through the second quarter, when Patrick Haigh hit a field goal at the 3:33 mark. That cut the lead to 11 at 26-15. However, free throws from Easton Semelsberger and a bucket by Harrold in the final moments put Penn Cambria up, 36-20, at halftime.
"I felt we played well defensively for the most part the first two times we played them, but they are going to make shots. They're good," Ronan said of BG. "But we felt if we won the rebounding battle and made eight 3-pointers, we could win this game."
Penn Cambria did win the rebound battle, but made only six 3-pointers. That part didn't matter so much.
"Our kids were hungry. They were up for the challenge. They weren't afraid," Ronan said. "If you want to be the champs, you have to beat the champs and they are a championship team"
Afraid, no, but the Panthers, their coaches and their fans had to be a little uneasy as BG clawed its way back into the game in the third quarter. Patrick Haigh hit a bucket with eight seconds left to cut the lead to 11, at 48-37, at the end of the third.
With 6:01 remaining in the game, Haigh -- who finished with 23 -- hit a bucket to cut the lead to seven at 48-41.
"I just wanted to get it to 10 by halftime," Drenning said. "I think we had missed three free throws and a 4-footer in the lane that would have cut the lead down to five or four points and maybe the news turns the other way. But full credit to Penn Cambria. They deserved to win."
Semelsberger was also "the dude" in the fourth quarter as he hit three 3-pointers any time BG was getting closer. Zach Grove, Kyle Reese and Harrold also contributed big buckets. Semelesberger, a sophomore, finished with 20 to Harrold's 19.
"He is such a competitor," Ronan said of Semelsberger, whose one of the smaller Panthers on the court. "He is so quick with that release. I challenged him before the game. I told him we needed three 3-pointers. He finished with five."
BG, which also got 10 points from Jayce Hettinger, is off until next Wednesday when it opens up the District 6 3A playoffs at home against either River Valley or Bald Eagle Area. Penn Cambria, which got 12 points from Reese, plays the Rams at Central Cambria Saturday night at 7:30.
PENN CAMBRIA (68): Gar. Harrold 7 4-4 19, McCarthy 3 1-2 7, Semelsberger 6 3-4 20, Reese 5 2-4 12, Chirdon 1 0-0 2, Grove 3 0-0 6, Latterner 1 0-0 2, Murphy 0 0-0 0, Gav. Harrold 0 0-0 0, McDermott 0 0-0 0, Marinak 0 0-0 0, Shuagis 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 26 10-14 68.
BISHOP GUILFOYLE (52): P. Haigh 7 6-6 23, J. Haigh 3 0-1 7, Hettinger 4 0-0 10, Kiesewetter 0 1-4 1, Woolridge 3 3-4 9, Beauchamp 0 0-0 0, Foor 0 0-0 0, Ruggery 0 0-0 0, Kissell 1 0-0 2, Tr. Rehm 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 18 10-15 52.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Penn Cambria 20 16 12 20 -- 68
Bishop Guilfoyle 6 14 17 15 -- 52
3-point goals: Penn Cambria 6 (Semelsberger 5, Gar. Harrold); Bishop Guilfoyle 6 (P. Haigh 3, J. Haigh, Hettinger 2).
Records: Penn Cambria (19-4), Bishop Guilfoyle (18-5).