ADAMS TWP — Mars managed two shots that beat the buzzer in Friday's regular season finale against Hampton.

The first one gave the Planets momentum. The second earned for them a section title.

Ben Perdziola's putback of his own miss just before time expired was the difference in a 69-67 home win against the Talbots.

Mars (14-8, 9-3) shares the Section 2 title with Moon.

“This means the world to me and it's because guys like Ben Lewis and Ben Perdziola,” said Planet coach Rob Carmody. “For the last couple of years, they didn't get playing time just because of the players who were in front of them. They didn't complain, didn't give us attitude. They just showed up to practice and workouts every day. They are the epitome of what you want in a high school program.”

Hampton's Antonio Ionadi made a pair of free throws that tied the game at 67 with 12.7 seconds left. Following a timeout, Mars junior guard Robby Carmody brought the ball up the floor and began a drive to the basket, but encountered a double team. He passed to Brandon Caruso, who was streaking toward the hoop from the left side. Caruso's layup was too strong, however, and fell off the rim.

Perdziola's first tip was no good, but his second sent Mars' packed gymnasium into a frenzy.

“I tipped the ball the first time and didn't know if I would have time for another one,” Perdziola said. “It seemed like an eternity for that ball to come back down.

“For us to win a title in a great section, it's incredible,” he added. “We hung in there against the best when no one thought we'd do anything this year.”

The Talbots (13-9, 6-6) had a lead as late as 1:20 remaining in the game when they held a 65-62 edge. Seconds later, Lewis drained a trey to tie the game. A Hampton turnover led to Robby Carmody's two free throws that put Mars up 67-65 with 29 seconds left.

“In a game like this, you can't pinpoint one thing that made the difference,” said Hampton coach Joe Lafko. “There were so many plays that went back and forth. Mars just made one more than we did.”

At the end of the first half, it was Robby Carmody who beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer that gave the Planets a 37-33 lead.

The shot helped ease the blow delivered by Hampton's 22 points in the period.

“We didn't play great in the first half,” said Coach Carmody, but we're going to enjoy this win.

“You have two buzzer-beaters, one at the end of the first half and another to win the game. You can't make that up.”

Robby Carmody spent much of the second and fourth quarters on the bench with foul trouble, but still managed to score a team-high 17 points.

“He's a very talented high school player who has the ability to take over a game,” said Lafko, who received a superb performance from Ionadi, a senior guard.

With Robby Carmody out of action for good portions of the game, Lewis and Perdziola stepped up, both scoring 15 points in the victory.

Ionadi scored a game-high 30 points, including 14 in a second period that saw the Talbots take a 27-24 lead on his two treys on back-to-back possessions midway through the period.

Hampton already had a WPIAL playoff berth clinched entering the game. Though the Talbots had to settle for fourth place in the section, that carries some weight considering the quality of their opponents.

“I've seen a section like this in the past,” said Lafko. “When we were Quad A, the four teams from our section that made the playoffs one season ended up being the final four teams left.

“One of our goals is to win a WPIAL title,” he added. “We will be competing for that.”

HAMPTON 67

Adam Bittner 1 0-0 2, Kyle Reese 1 1-2 3, Ben Huber 4 1-2 10, Antonio Ionadi 10 8-9 30, Mark Shehady 4 4-5 12, Ryan Sickles 0 1-2 1, Isaac DeGregorio 1 4-5 6, Nick Schuit 1 0-0 3. Totals: 22 19-25 67.

MARS 69

Ben Lewis 5 1-2 15, Ben Perdziola 2 11-14 15, Jerry Stoddart 2 1-2 5, Robby Carmody 4 7-8 17, Cade Hetzler 3 5-6 11, Andrew Recchia 2 2-2 6, Brandon Caruso 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 27-34 69.

Hampton 11 22 14 20 — 67

Mars18 19 13 19 — 69

3-point goals: Hampton 4 (Ionadi 2, Huber, Schuit); Mars 6 (Lewis 4, Carmody 2).

Next: WPIAL Class 5A playoffs