ADAMS TWP — It was the type of game that Mars boys basketball coach Rob Carmody believes can spur maturity in a team.

His Planets did a bit of growing up Monday night.

Struggling on offense for much of the night, the Planets found a way to stay in front of visiting Armstrong before a 27-point fourth quarter closed out a 63-43 victory.

“We just played a rival (Knoch) in a packed gym Friday night and we leave at 6:45 a.m. (Tuesday) for Florida,” said Carmody. “This game's about maturity and I'll take a win any day.”

Mars (5-0) led the River Hawks 36-29 after three quarters, going just 13-of-41 from the field in that span. That's when the Planets finally started to heat up.

A basket from Andrew Recchia, five points from Robby Carmody and a dunk from Michael Carmody were all part of a 9-1 run for Mars to open the final quarter, pushing the Planet lead to 45-30.

Robby Carmody scored 15 of his game-high 33 points in the final eight minutes.

“I thought we did a good job against him early in the game, but he exploded in the fourth quarter,” said Armstrong coach Greg Hutcherson. “He proved why he is the best player in the WPIAL.

“Coach Carmody had his team well-prepared.”

Robby Carmody also pulled down 18 rebounds in the game.

“I thought we did a great job on the boards in the second half,” Coach Carmody said.

The Planets held modest leads of 14-11 and 24-20 after one quarter and one half, respectively.

“We knew Armstrong was going to play a match-up zone and we know how to beat that ... cut hard and screens,” Coach Carmody added. “But we just couldn't make plays. We didn't have any lift tonight, no legs.”

But the River Hawks were unable to take advantage of Mars' sluggish offense. The Planets held them to just nine points in both the second and third quarters.

“Between Cade Hetzler and Brandon Caruso, both of those guys played tremendous defense,” said Coach Carmody. “When you are able to apply pressure with just two guys, it's very hard to score against that.”

Mars also struggled from the free throw line, going 13-of-21 on the night.

“That's the worst we've been this year,” said Coach Carmody.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Price paced Armstrong by scoring 12 points.

The Planets will play two games in the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., beginning Wednesday.

ARMSTRONG 43

Nick Russo 2 0-0 4, Hunter Shanty 0 6-9 6, Dawson Porter 4 0-0 8, Jalen Price 1 1-2 3, Jacob Herbst 0 3-4 3, Isaiah Price 4 2-4 12, Nate Baillie 3 1-3 7. Totals: 14 13-22 43.

MARS 63

Cade Hetzler 1 0-2 2, Michael Carmody 3 2-5 8, Austin Vogel 0 1-2 1, Joe Schneider 0 2-2 2, Andrew Recchia 3 1-1 8, Connor Amsler 1 0-0 3, Brandon Caruso 2 0-0 6, Robby Carmody 11 7-9 33. Totals: 21 13-21 63.

Armstrong 11 9 9 14 — 43

Mars14 10 12 27 — 63

3-point goals: Armstrong 2 (I. Price 2); Mars 8 (R. Carmody 4, Caruso 2, Amsler, Recchia).

Wednesday: Mars at City of Palms Classic (Fort Myers, Fla.).