JEFFERSON TWP — Led by star center John Castello, Mars’ inside game rarely has an off night. When the Planets heat up from 3-point range, they are nearly impossible to beat.

Christian Schmitt made sure that was the case in Tuesday’s Section 1-AAA meeting at Knoch.

The senior guard caught fire from long range, sinking six 3-pointers as the Planets coasted to a 72-43 boys basketball win that clinches at least a share of the section crown.

“Against Allderdice (a 77-68 loss on Sunday), he took some shots that he probably should have made but missed,” said Planet coach Rob Carmody of Schmitt. “He was very ticked off and he is sometimes too hard on himself.

“Tonight was the best decision-making game he’s had all year. All but one of his shots were good decisions and that one was at the end of the game. We don’t have anybody who works harder at his game than Christian.”

Knoch coach Ron McNabb is well aware of the problems caused by Mars’ balanced offense. The Planets made nine 3-pointers in an 81-48 defeat of the Knights Jan. 8.

“We’re pretty good inside, too, with Mac (Christy) and P.J. (Gourley), but when Schmitt is making five 3-pointers in the first half like he did tonight, you need to get out and guard them in space,” McNabb said. “It opens things up for them with penetration.”

Castello’s presence in the paint helped Mars (16-5, 12-1) build a 20-9 lead in the first quarter as the senior scored eight points in that span. But the second period belonged to Schmitt, who drained four buckets from beyond the arc and finished the night with a game-high 22 points.

“Sometimes, it takes a while for me to get into a rhythm,” Schmitt said, “but if you hit the first two and the third one feels good, you know it’s a night when you should probably be taking a lot of shots.”

The Planets needed Schmitt’s accuracy as Knoch’s Devin Campbell hit three treys of his own in the second period. His second one of the quarter pulled Knoch to within 26-20 with 3:01 left in the half.

“We know Devin is capable of that,” said McNabb. “When he’s shooting like that, it opens things up for (point guard) Austin Hannes.”

Hannes led Knoch with 13 points, but by the fourth quarter, Knoch’s offense was running out of gas. The Knights scored 10 in the third and eight in the final period as Mars continued to roll.

With three minutes left in the game and the Planets ahead by 22 points, Mars sophomore guard Robby Carmody dove onto the floor and battled two Knights for possession of the ball, which he eventually won. That kind of effort in a game that has already been decided came as no surprise to Coach Carmody, who knows his team is about much more than raw talent.

“Aaron Gruber started that play,” he said. “The ball was headed out of bounds and Aaron tipped it back toward the middle of the floor. Robby was the beneficiary of it, but Aaron started it. We practice a certain way and we expect the kids to play that way.”

Mars can clinch an outright section title with a win Friday against Hampton or a Highlands loss to Deer Lakes.

The Knights (12-7, 8-5) have already clinched a WPIAL playoff berth, but McNabb is anxious to see how his team closes the regular season. Knoch plays at Freeport on Friday and at Armstrong on Monday.

“We want to go into the playoffs with momentum, we just talked about that,” he said. “We want to win out. It would help our seed.”

MARS 72

Alex Gruber 3 1-1 7, John Castello 9 2-2 20, Steve Castello 2 0-0 5, Christian Schmitt 7 2-5 22, Robby Carmody 6 5-6 17, Nate Sablowski 0 1-2 1, Ryan Giallonardo 0 0-0 0, Sam Morrissey 0 0-0 0, Brent Ashbaugh 0 0-0 0, Bailey Trzeciak 0 0-0 0, Aaron Gruber 0 0-0 0. Totals: 27 11-16 72.

KNOCH 43

Austin Hannes 5 1-1 13, Noah Cetnar 0 1-2 1, Mac Christy 3 3-5 9, Josh Knochel 1 0-0 2, Jackson McKee 1 0-0 2, P.J. Gourley 2 0-1 4, Devin Campbell 4 1-1 12, Aiden Albert 0 0-1 0, Ben McMillen 0 0-0 0, Alex Stobert 0 0-0 0, Jesse Fesel 0 0-0 0, Julian Sanks 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 6-10 43.

Mars 20 17 16 19 — 72

Knoch9 16 10 8 — 43

3-point goals: Mars 7 (Schmitt 6, S. Castello); Knoch 5 (Campbell 3, Hannes 2).

Friday: Knoch at Freeport; Hampton at Mars