CRANBERRY TWP — They say you can't flick a switch in sports.

But Mars did.

The Planets (10-3) found themselves in a tussle with Seneca Valley for the better part of three quarters Saturday in the Don Graham Classic at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School.

A 10-3 run at the end of the first half opened up a 32-23 lead at halftime. A 20-2 run to begin the fourth quarter put away a 73-51 boys basketball victory.

“We seemed to find ourselves at the right times,” Mars coach Rob Carmody admitted.

Both teams were playing an early Saturday afternoon game on the heels of rival games the night before. Seneca Valley lost to North Allegheny on Friday night while Mars rolled past Knoch.

“I can't use that as an excuse, though,” Carmody said. “These are kids and in the age of AAU ball, they sometimes play at 9 a.m. after a game the night before.”

The lead changed hands four times in the first half before Mars took control. The Planets rolled to their sixth straight win and may be getting 6-foot-4 forward Alex Gruber back from injury on Wednesday.

Mars center John Castello — who had 13 points and 21 rebounds Saturday — can't wait for that.

“We've all missed him, but nobody's missed him more than me,” Castello said. “We're not the same team without Alex.”

Scary thought.

Before their 22-point win Saturday, the Planets' last four games were wins by margins of 32, 36, 39 and 33 points.

Mars sank 21 of 23 free throws Saturday, Seneca Valley five of nine. The Planets only had 23 field goals compared to the Raiders' 20.

Seneca Valley coach Victor Giannotta didn't care about any such comparisons.

“They're good,” Giannotta said of Mars. “If we were to play them 20 times, they'd beat us 20 times.

“It was hard for our kids to get up and ready for this game after just losing to Pine-Richland and North Allegheny. That's not an excuse or an alibi, that's just the reality of the situation.”

The Raiders (4-8) have lost four straight. They are playing without injured starters Jack Cook and Chris Hart, two of their top players.

Robby Carmody paced the Planets with 25 points, adding four assists and three steals. He received the Mike Graham MVP award for the game as part of the Graham Classic.

Carmody had two thunderous dunks during the game.

“Robby's game is only now getting back to where it should be after some injuries,” Coach Carmody said. “Being a sophomore playing with such an experienced group has really helped his development.”

Christian Schmitt had 10 points and four assists for Mars. The Planets had a 43-25 edge in rebounding with Castello nearly matching the Raiders' total on his own.

Castello is averaging 15 boards per game.

“I've never had a kid who can rebound like that,” Carmody said. “John is full-go all of the time. He knows how to get in position and he can read where the ball is going like nobody I've ever seen.”

“It's more than just hard work,” Castello said of rebounding. “It's figuring where the shots are coming from and establishing position inside.”

Jamir Carter paced Seneca Valley with 12 points. Andrew Smathers produced 11 points and five rebounds off the bench to receive the Graham Classic's Bill Florijan Sixth Man Award for the game. Mark Smathers led the Raiders with six rebounds.

SENECA VALLEY 51Jamir Carter 5-10 1-2 12, Nate Trzeciak 1-4 0-0 2, Payton Skalos 2-9 1-1 5, Jake Holl 0-2 0-0 0, Patrick Uher 2-5 0-0 5, Matt Trotta 0-0 0-0 0, Josh Balog 0-0 0-0 0, Justin Koken 2-7 1-2 6, Andrew Smathers 2-2 0-1 4, Mark Smathers 2-2 2-3 6. Totals: 20-50 5-9 51.MARS 73Aaron Gruber 2-6 0-0 6, John Castello 5-11 2-2 12, Steve Castello 3-14 2-2 9, Christian Schmitt 2-6 5-5 10, Robby Carmody 8-10 8-9 25, Ryan Giallonardo 0-1 0-0 0, Bailey Trzeciak 1-4 0-0 2, Nate Sablowski 0-1 2-2 2, Sam Morrissey 0-1 0-0; Cade Hetzler 1-2 0-0 2, Brent Ashbaugh 1-1 2-2 4, Ben Lewis 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 23-58 21-23 73.Seneca Valley 16 7 14 14 — 51Mars16 16 17 24 — 733-point goals: Carter, UIher, Koken, A. Smathers 3; Gruber 2, J. Castello, S. Castello, Schmitt, CarmodyJV: Seneca Valley, 53, CW North Catholic 31 (SV: Mark Smathers 12, CWNC: Michael Drambel 11)Tuesday: Seneca Valley at Butler, Mars at Hampton