Still in the hunt
MONROEVILLE — The Mars Fightin' Planets only scored 17 points in the first half and played the final 3:49 of the game without stalwart guard Robby Carmody, who fouled out.
This could have spelled disaster for most teams, but not the Planets, who moved on to the PIAA Class 5A semifinals after a hard-fought 60-51 win over Highlands Friday night at Gateway High School.
Carmody, who ended the game with 24 points, kept the Planets (24-4) in the game in the first half, as he scored 12 of the team's 17 points.
“Robby Carmody is so tough to defend,” Highlands coach Tyler Stoczynski said. “He's so multi-dimensional.”
Highlands (20-6) used a balanced scoring attack in the first half to build a 24-14 lead late in the second quarter, but Mars would out-score the Rams 46-27 from that point on.
“We looked like we were asleep in the first half,” Mars coach Rob Carmody said. “They really fought and played hard in the second half.”
The Planets began chipping away at the lead in the third quarter, as they began to get more scoring from the rest of the team. Andrew Recchia, who ended the game with 16 points, hit a couple of 3-pointers in the frame to help Mars put up 21 points in the quarter to cut the Highlands lead to 39-38.
“We just lost a little bit of our focus that we had in the first half,” Stoczynski said. “We just didn't execute as well.”
Cade Hetzler, who scored all six of his points in the fourth quarter, hit a jumper with 7:10 to play in the game to give the Planets a 42-41 edge, a lead they would never relinquish.
The pivotal moment in the game occurred with 3:49 to play and the Planets leading by four points. Robby Carmody was called for an offensive foul that put him on the bench with five fouls.
“Our guys didn't panic at that point,” coach Carmody said. “We were up by four and we actually increased the lead after that.”Recchia took control from that point on, going 8-for-8 from the foul line down the stretch.“Andrew Recchia was the best player on the floor in the second half,” Rob Carmody said.The Planets outscored the Rams 22-12 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.Luke Cochran led the way for Highlands with 14 points, while Shawn Erceg chipped in with 13.Mars will play Milton Hershey, which was a 73-65 winner over Archbishop Carroll, in a state semifinal at a site and time to be determined on Monday.“They are very athletic,” Rob Carmody said of Milton Hershey. “They are a lot like New Castle.”MARS 60Robby Carmody 10 4-8 24, Andrew Recchia 3 8-10 16, Cade Hetzler 2 2-2 6, Michael Carmody 3 2-2 10, Brandon Caruso 2 0-0 4, Joe Schneider 0 0-0 0, Luke Morrissey 0 0-0 0, Joe Craska 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 16-22 60.HIGHLANDS 51Luke Cochran 5 1-4 14, Shawn Erceg 6 1-4 13, Romello Freeman 1 5-8 7, Johnny Crise 4 0-0 9, Christian Tanilli 1 2-2 4, Ryan Signorella 2 0-0 4, Daniel Thimons 0 0-2 0, Korry Myers 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 9-20 51.Mars 9 8 21 22 — 60Highlands10 14 15 12 — 513-point goals: Mars 4 (Recchia 2, M. Carmody 2); Highlands 4 (Cochran 3, Crise).Monday: Mars vs. Milton Hershey, PIAA Class 5A semifinal, TBD
