WEXFORD — Following his team's WPIAL Class 5A semifinal game against rival Hampton, Mars boys basketball coach Rob Carmody said there were five possessions during which the Planets had a breakdown on defense.

The Talbots made them pay dearly for each one.

Isaac DeGregorio (3) and Antonio Ionadi (2) sank a combined five treys during Mars' lapses. All three of DeGregorio's 3-pointers came during the Talbots' 21-5 third-quarter run that gave them the lead for good as Hampton advanced to Friday's district title game with a 61-59 win at North Allegheny High School.

“Other than those five possessions, I thought we played well defensively,” said Rob Carmody. “We held them under their season average in points, but it comes down to details. You leave a guy open because you're not communicating, that's a detail. You can't do that against a good team.”

Even with its subpar third period, Mars was in position to win or at least tie the game late.

Robby Carmody's sixth and final trey of the game pulled the Planets to within 60-58 with seven seconds remaining. DeGregorio made 1-of-2 free throws at the other end for a 3-point lead.

With five seconds on the clock, Mars inbounded and got the ball into Carmody's hands. The junior had just crossed midcourt when he launched a 3-point attempt that went in, but it was ruled that he was fouled on the floor and the shot didn't count.

With 1.8 seconds left, Carmody stepped to the line and made the first free throw to cut it to a 2-point game. He intentionally missed the second and was going after the rebound when he was whistled for moving across the free throw line before the ball hit the rim. The infraction gave possession to the Talbots, who inbounded and time ran out.

“He made a jump-stop,” Rob Carmody said of his son on the sequence leading to the free throws. “My understanding of the rule is that if you jump-stop, you should be allowed to finish. But you can't rely on that to win a game. This loss is on us, not the officials.

“Hampton played better than we did, not by a large margin, but it only takes one point.”

Robby Carmody finished with a game-high 32 points, including 14 of Mars' 16 points in the final quarter.

“He made some unbelievable shots to keep them in it,” said Hampton coach Joe Lafko of Carmody. “He scored a lot, but we forced him into some tough shots. If we win and he scores 32 points, I'll take it.”

Lafko watched his team weather an early storm as the Planets built a 25-10 lead with 5:30 left in the first half. The Talbots (16-9) then closed the second quarter on a 15-6 run, the final three points coming on one of Mars' defensive breakdowns. Ionadi was left open in the final seconds of the half and he drained a trey, cutting his team's deficit to 31-25.

“Antonio has been making big plays for us all season,” said Lafko. “Going into halftime down six instead of nine, that was a big factor in this win.”

Mars managed a 7-0 spurt at the start of the third period, pushing its lead back to 13 points, but that is when the Talbots made their move. DeGregorio hit his first trey with 2:14 left in the period. His last, with under a minute to play, gave the Talbots a 44-43 edge they would not surrender.

“He's been a letterman since day one,” said Lafko of DeGregorio, a freshman guard. “He has court saavy and knows the game very well.”

Mars' eight turnovers in the third period fueled Hampton's surge.

“We changed things up a bit defensively,” said Lafko. “We played tight on some guys and sagged off on others and it created some turnovers for us.”

Andrew Recchia added 13 points for the Planets while Ionadi's 21 points paced the Talbots.

Mars (15-9) will be off for over a week until the state playoffs start March 10. Though it included a lot of different faces from this year's team, last year's squad made a run to the state title game after losing in this round of the district tournament.

“We lost 12 seniors from last year's team,” said Rob Carmody. “For these guys to play the way they have, all I can feel is proud.”

HAMPTON 61

Kyle Reese 2 4-4 8, Ben Huber 2 1-5 5, Antonio Ionadi 7 4-5 21, Mark Shehady 4 1-2 9, Isaac DeGregorio 3 1-2 10, Nick Schuit 3 2-2 8, Adam Bittner 0 0-0 0, Ryan Murray 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 13-20 61.

MARS 59

Cade Hetzler 4 0-2 9, Andrew Recchia 5 1-1 13, Robby Carmody 11 4-7 32, Ben Lewis 2 0-0 5, Ben Perdziola 0 0-0 0, Michael Carmody 0 0-0 0, Brandon Caruso 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 5-10 59.

Hampton 8 17 21 15 — 61

Mars15 16 12 16 — 59

3-point goals: Hampton 6 (Ionadi 3, DeGregorio 3); Mars 10 (Carmody 6, Recchia 2, Hetzler, Lewis).

March 10: PIAA Class 5A playoffs, TBD