ADAMS TWP — Christian Schmitt and his Mars boys basketball teammates flew around the backcourt, hounding Montour at every opportunity.

The Planets’ relentless defense was often rewarded with the ball. Mars forced 20 first-half turnovers and raced to an 80-43 non-section home win over the Spartans.

It’s what Schmitt hopes is a preview of what Mars (3-0) can do all season.

“We want to get in people’s faces and make them not want to play us, basically,” Schmitt said. “We’re going to be a pain in the butt to play all year. If we keep playing where people are turning the ball over and they have to think about what they’re doing next ... you’ll see what happened tonight will happen a lot more. ”

Montour (0-2) was limited to 18 shots in the first half. The Spartans never led.

Mars coach Rob Carmody liked his team getting a big win before the Planets open section play today at Burrell.

“What I loved was our intensity,” Carmody said. “We missed too many open looks. We had 80 points, but I don’t think we shot the ball well. What we did was create the pace we wanted.”

Mars shot 47.6 percent (20-of-42) from the floor in the first half.

The Planets took control with the game tied at 4 in the first quarter.

Mars went on a 9-0 run, capped by a basket from Aaron Gruber with 1 minute, 50 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Planets extended the lead to 50-24 at halftime. Mike Mastroianni came off the bench and led Montour in scoring with 12 points.

“Their athleticism overwhelmed us and their toughness overwhelmed us,” first-year Montour coach Will Saunders said. “We thought if we came in and showed toughness we could compete with them. But they blew our doors off.”

Mars had four players — John Castello (19 points), Robby Carmody (18), Alex Gruber (11) and Schmitt (10) — finish in double figures scoring.

Robby Carmody’s layup with around 3 minutes left in the third quarter put the Planets ahead 66-26 and started the mercy clock.

Castello registered a double-double, also pulling down 11 rebounds.

“We want to play as fast as we can, but stay under control,” Robby Carmody said. “We want to create as many turnovers as we can to turn into easy points. We want to have more possessions than the other team.”

Schmitt is excited to keep chasing opposing offenses and see where it can take Mars.

“It gives us more confidence, gives us more fuel to play the best we can,” Schmitt said. “The best is yet to come from us. This is another building block.”

MONTOUR 43

Randall LaBrie 0 0-0 0, Cam Colliers 1 0-0 2, Caleb Bryan 0 0-0 0, Tyrell Eleam 2 0-0 4, K.J. Rhodes 2 3-4 8, Mike Buter 2 2-2 8, Braydon Jones 1 0-0 2, Dom Sleva 2 2-4 7, Brady Minetti 0 0-0 0, Mike Mastroianni 3 4-4 12, Matt Slesinger 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 10-12 43.

MARS 80

Alex Gruber 4 2-3 11, John Castello 8 3-4 19, Ryan Giallonardo 1 0-0 2, Christian Schmitt 3 4-4 10, Robby Carmody 6 2-4 18, Aaron Gruber 1 0-0 2, Nate Sablowski 2 0-0 4, Mitch Verplank 2 0-2 4, Sam Morrisey 0 0-0 0, Brandt Kepreos 3 0-0 8, Nate Bayuk 1 0-0 2, Noah Tresky 0 0-2 0, Bailey Trzeciak 0 0-0 0, Brent Ashbaugh 0 0-0 0, Nate Rosswog 1 0-0 2. Totals: 32 9-15 80.

Montour 6 18 5 14 — 43

Mars20 30 20 10 — 80

3-point goals: Montour 5 (Mastroianni 2, Buter, Rhodes, Sleva); Mars 5 (Carmody 2, Kepreos 2, Gruber)

JV: Mars 51-43

Friday: Mars at Burrell