Bruins roll past Storm

Groleau scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the first half and classmate Joe Pyszka added 19 points on 9 of 10 from the field to lead the Bruins to a 77-40 victory over the Bureau Valley Storm in the nightcap of semifinal play in the Class 2A Regional in Manlius.

Next up for St. Bede (23-5) will be Seneca (24-4 ) for the regional title on Friday. The Fighting Irish defeated Hall 42-40 in Wednesday’s opening tilt.

“We know what happened last year with Fieldcrest,” said Groleau of his team’s regional championship loss last season. “We are a very focused team right now. We are on a mission. We are all ready for Friday.”

St. Bede coach Mike Kilmartin said a regional championship has been on his mind since the day he took the head coaching job two years ago. The Bruins haven’t won a regional title since the 1999-2000 season.

“I’ve been in a lot of regional championship games and been to state many times and there is nothing like it,” said Kilmartin. “I want to do that again and I want to do that at St. Bede. Whether that is going to be possible it remains to be seen. Seneca is good. They have a better record than we do.”

On Wednesday, St. Bede showed when they have both their inside and outside game going at the same time they are a team tough to beat.

Pyszka and Groleau got the Bruins rolling in the first quarter. Trailing 7-5 to the Storm after Frank Gebeck hit a fade-away jumper from the baseline, Pyszka scored on consecutive possessions inside to give the Bruins the lead for good.

After that, Groleau caught fire. The lefty sharp-shooter hit three treys in less than a minute and a half, his last one capping a 15-0 run that put St. Bede ahead 20-7. Groleau hit one more three before quarter’s end, knocking one down from the left baseline with a hand in his face.