ADAMS TWP - The Valley boys basketball team got off to a slow start against Mars in a Section 1-AAA contest Tuesday.

In the end, it would cost the Vikings and put a small dent in their playoff chances.

The Planets enjoyed a 13-point first-half lead, only to see the Vikings take the lead three times in the second half.

Mars, however, re-took the lead with 1:39 in the game left and made it stand in a 53-51 victory.

The Vikings had three shots at the basket in the closing seconds, the last a 17-foot jumper by Ian Benson that hit the rim and was knocked away.

"When you're down by 13 and come back, that's energy you could have used to maintain a lead," said Valley coach Vernon Benson.

"(The Vikings) just took too long to get into a rhythm. They weren't playing hard. They don't understand that when the clock starts, the game starts, not seven minutes into the game," Benson added.

Despite trailing 5-2 early, the Planets (12-5, 6-2) rolled off the next eight points and 20 of 24 to take a 22-9 lead.

With Mars leading 28-15 following a 3-pointer by Robbie Herold, Valley (8-8, 4-3) jumped back into the game with a 9-0 run. Ian Benson scored the final seven points for a 28-24.

Mars' Tim Frye and Valley's Nate Robinson exchanged a pair of baskets each for a 32-28 score at the break.

"In our section, if you get a 10-point lead, the game's not over. I don't care what the situation is," said Mars coach Rob Carmody.

"Coach Benson does a great job. He kept them motivated. They kept coming and got second chances. We weren't shooting well."

There were four ties and four lead changes in the third quarter as the Planets closed out the frame with Gallagher and Frye each sinking a free throw and Gallagher hitting two more to take a 43-41 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Andrew Barker tied the game for Valley with 7:09 left before Scott Martinelli sank a pair of free throws and Gallagher had a putback off a Charlie Jaicks' 3-point attempt for a 47-43 Planets lead.

The Vikings evened the score when Robinson and Barker scored buckets.

With 3:03 left, Herold sank his second trey of the evening to open a 50-47 Planets lead.

Valley's Jon Stuck scored to cut the deficit to one before Brad Flenory stole the ball and scored to give the Vikings a 51-50 lead.

Gallagher answered with a layup underneath with 1:39 remaining to shift the lead back to Mars.

Mars had a chance to ice the game, but Martinelli sank one-of-two free throws with 35.4 seconds left and Gallagher missed two with 23.8 seconds left.

That gave the Vikings one final chance down the court, but they couldn't drop the game-tying basket.

Gallagher and Frye led the Planets with 16 points apiece while Benson led all scorers with 17 and Barker added 11.

Mars connected on just 11 of 20 free throws. Valley was 4-of-11.

"We're shooting 75.6 percent as a team and we were 11 of 20?" Carmody said. "Obviously, they didn't get 11 of 11, but our strength has to be hitting free throws at the end of the games."

The win is big for Mars as it keeps it on pace with Hampton for second place in the section, two games behind Knoch.

"In the grand scheme of things, in these kinds of games, the balls have bounced the other way," said Carmody. "Still, we found a way to win. We've beaten Valley twice and that puts us in a more positive position."

VALLEY 51

Ian Benson 7 0-0 17, Tony Clemons 2 0-0 4, Andrew Barker 5 1-5 11, Jon Stuck 2 2-4 6, Tyler Santucci 1 1-2 3, Nate Robinson 3 0-0 6, Brad Flenory 2 0-0 4, Dan Zsolcsak 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 4-11 51.

MARS 53

Sean Gallagher 6 3-7 16, Scott Martinelli 2 4-7 8, Dusty Wessel 1 0-1 2, Robbie Herold 3 0-0 8, Charlie Jaicks 1 0-0 3, Mark Lucas 0 0-0 0, Tim Frye 6 4-5 16. Totals: 19 11-20 53.

3-point goals:

Benson 3; Herold 2, Gallagher, Jaicks

Today:

Mars at St. Joseph's

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