JEFFERSON TWP — Robby Carmody entered into uncharted territory Friday night.

Mars' star senior guard scored at least 40 points for the third straight game, netting 40 in the Planets' 79-52 Section 2-5A victory at rival Knoch.

As decorated as his scholastic career has been, Carmody had not achieved the feat until now.

“I don't really focus on how many points I score,” Carmody said. “I haven't been forcing many shots. Most of them have come in the flow of the offense.”

“We knew Robby was going to get his, but we wanted to make him work and I thought we did that,” said Knights' coach Ron McNabb. “I thought Schrec (sophomore Jared Schrecengost) did a nice job on defense and Robby made a lot of contested shots.”

Knoch's deficit after three quarters was 53-42, but Carmody and the Planets ended the competitive aspect of the game soon after.

Mars opened the fourth period on a 13-0 run. When Jesse Fesel finally ended Knoch's scoring drought with a basket with 3:50 left in the game, the Planet lead was 66-44.

Carmody tallied 10 points in the final period. He came out of the game during a timeout with 58 seconds remaining in the game.

He was unable to play in last year's game here due to injury and relished his final game in Knoch's gym.

“This is one of the things I'm going to miss most about high school basketball. I love playing the villain and quieting the crowd. It was awesome.”

Mars opened the game on a 10-0 run, but Knoch pulled to within 16-14 by the end of the first quarter.

Knoch's Julian Sanks drained a pair of treys and Schrecengost added one during the run.

“We got punched right in the mouth at the start of the game, but I like the way we responded,” said McNabb.

The Knights (2-2, 0-1) had their moments — Sanks ended the game with 13 points and Schrecengost added 11, but Carmody and Co. never did give up the lead. His conventional 3-point play gave the Planets (4-0, 1-0) a 28-20 lead with 4:58 left in the second quarter.

Carmody's night included a 15-of-23 effort from the field and 8-of-8 from the free throw line.

“He didn't shoot as well from deep as he has been, but he's in better shape this year and was knifing through people and finishing,” said Mars coach Rob Carmody. “We need him to do that right now until people get acclimated. We had Ben Lewis (now graduated) last year and he made a school-record number of 3-pointers. We have to replace that offense.”

Andrew Recchia scored 16 points for Mars, while Cade Hetzler and Michael Carmody both added nine.

“Knoch's a young team and Mac is doing a great job,” said Rob Carmody. “I'm glad we got them here early in the season.”

MARS 79

Cade Hetzler 4 0-1 9, Michael Carmody 3 3-4 9, Andrew Recchia 6 2-2 16, Luke Morrissey 1 0-0 3, Brandon Caruso 0 2-2 2, Robby Carmody 15 8-8 40. Totals: 29 15-17 79.

KNOCH 52

Ben Lucas 1 2-2 5, Scott Fraser 3 0-0 6, Jesse Fesel 3 0-0 6, Julian Sanks 5 0-2 13, Jared Schrecengost 4 2-5 11, Jake Scheidt 2 2-2 6, Adam Bajuszik 1 0-0 2, Rocky Kopac 0 1-2 1, Cole Lassinger 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 7-13 52.

Mars 16 20 17 26 — 79

Knoch14 14 14 10 — 52

3-point goals: Mars 6 (R. Carmody 2, Recchia 2, Morrissey, Hetzler); Knoch 5 (Sanks 3, Lucas, Schrecengost).

Monday: Armstrong at Mars

Tuesday: Knoch at West Allegheny