ALTOONA – Belief and guts and love and trust.

To the Mars boys basketball team and its coach, Rob Carmody, it all boiled down to that.

And the Planets needed all four of those things to move on to the PIAA 5A championship game.

Mars was down big to Milton Hershey in the first half, but regrouped after the halftime break, and a layup by Cade Hetzler with 6.5 seconds left gave Mars a 62-61 win in the semifinals Tuesday at Altoona High School.

Mars (25-4) didn't shoot as well from the field or from the line as the Spartans did. They were out-rebounded and committed more turnovers.

But, the Planets are going to Hershey where they will meet Abington Heights at 8 p.m. Friday at the GIANT Center with the state championship on the line.

“You can look at it metrically and you'd think we lost,” Carmody said. “Fortunately, our guys believed. They trusted. They kept fighting. They kept battling. Sometimes basketball is a game about belief and guts and love and trust. That's what you saw tonight because metrically, we didn't deserve to win that game.”

And for a moment at the end of the first half, it looked as if Mars wouldn't.

After a strong start that saw Mars take an 18-11 lead after the first eight minutes, the next eight minutes were largely a disaster for the Planets. Milton Hershey (26-6) outscored the Planets 24-4 at one point and held its biggest lead of the game at 35-22 with a minute left in the half.

The Spartans led by 11 at the break.

Halftime couldn't come soon enough for Mars.

“We needed halftime,” Carmody said. “It helped our guys catch their breath and realize they just had to go out there and play.

“We've been in this situation for whatever reason throughout the playoffs,” Carmody added. “We had a really great rhythm in the first quarter and then Cade Hetzler went out with some fouls. We were plus-19 with him on the floor. So, there's no secret. Cade Hetzler played in the second half.”

And the senior guard hit the game-winner on a play that was designed to go to Robby Carmody.

But seeing his teammate and state player of the year blanketed by two defenders, Hetzler drove an open lane for a layup with 6.5 seconds left to give the Planets a one-point lead.

A late shot from the corner by Milton Hershey forward Pedro Rodriguez clanked off the rim as time expired and sent Mars and its contingent of fans into a frenzy.

“Cade made the right read,” Robby Carmody said. “I cannot trust in a group of guys more. One through 20, I can put my full faith in them to go out and do the right thing. Cade saw the lane to the hoop and went for it.”

It was a stark turnaround for a team that looked shell-shocked after two quarters.

A different Mars team emerged from the locker room for the third period.

Rob Carmody simply smiled slyly when asked what his message to the team was at the half.

“I'm the greatest motivational speaker ever,” the coach deadpanned. “And I don't charge much, either.”

The coach, though, may be better at stirring up spirits than his self-depreciating wit suggests.

He certainly fired up his son, Robby, for the second half.

The 6-foot-4 senior guard struggled in the first half with just eight points. He didn't make his first field goal until the first-half buzzer.

But he finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds and had a huge 3-point play with a little more than a minute left that gave the Planets life.

“It's really special,” Robby Carmody said. “From day one we said we had the talent and the potential to get here. We just had to put it all together. I don't think we've put it all together yet, and that makes me excited for Friday because we haven't reached our ceiling yet.

“If we get everything clicking on Friday, I think we can be leaving with some hardware.”

It's the second trip to the state championship game in three years for the Planets. They lost to Neumann-Goretti, 99-66, two years ago.

This team is much different than the one that played for that title.

Robby Carmody is a senior now and his brother, Michael, is a sophomore.

Michael scored 16 points against Milton Hershey and was a huge presence inside.

“He kept us in the game,” Rob Carmody said. “He was huge because he never came off the floor and he hit a couple of big 3s for us.”

Rodriguez finished with 22 points for the Spartans. Donyae' Baylor-Carroll added 17 for Milton Hershey.

For the three Carmodys, getting a crack at the state title is more than meets the eye.

“This is as fun a ride as I've ever gotten to be on,” Coach Carmody said. “I've known all these kids since they were in kindergarten. I'm a really lucky guy to get to experience this with my two kids.”

MARS 62

Cade Hetzler 4-7 0-0 10, Michael Carmody 6-9 2-8 16, Andrew Recchia 3-8 0-0 7, Brandon Caruso 3-10 0-0 7, Robby Carmody 5-14 11-12 22, Luke Morrissey 0-0 0-0 0, Joe Schneider 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-48 13-20 62.

MILTON HERSHEY 61

Donyae' Baylor-Carroll 5-17 3-3 17, Jaiden Young 3-9 0-0 6, Pedro Rodriguez 10-16 1-1 22, Naeem Cross 3-3 0-0 6, Treyvon Ferguson 0-1 4-4 4, Josh Parra 3-5 0-0 6, Carrington Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Hassan Kamara 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 24-52 8-8 61.

Mars 18 8 22 14 — 62

Milton Hershey11 26 12 12 — 61

3-point goals: Mars 7 (Hetzler 2, M. Carmody 2, Recchia, Caruso, R. Carmody); Milton Hershey 5 (Baylor-Carroll 4, Rodriguez)

Friday: Mars vs. Abington Heights, PIAA Class 5A championship game in Hershey, 8 p.m.