ADAMS TWP — D.J. Cannon didn't need to say a word about not wanting Friday's game to be his last in a Mars uniform.

His play spoke for itself.

The senior guard was the Planets' emotional leader on the floor, scoring 18 points and grabbing six rebounds in a 65-57 win over archrival Knoch on Senior Recognition Night.

The victory keeps Mars alive for a WPIAL Class AAA playoff berth. The Planets (10-13, 6-6) now need Knoch to defeat Valley on Saturday to make postseason play.

Cannon drained four 3-pointers and came up with several big rebounds in the fourth quarter, but the biggest ovation he got was when he took a charge from Knoch's Kyle Reiser with 4:54 left in the game.

Mars was ahead 52-48 at the time. As Cannon got up off the floor, he pumped his fist and the cheers from the home crowd were deafening.

"Growing up and playing for Mars, it's always been a natural rivalry with Knoch, with them being so close," Cannon said. "And with it being senior night, and the fact that I missed all of last year with a shoulder injury, it just made it that much sweeter."

"He's a senior with a lot of football playoff experience," said Mars coach Rob Carmody. "If there's a big man on campus walking around with varsity letters, it's D.J.

"He just refused to let us lose tonight."

Cannon didn't garner all the cheers from Mars fans. Junior Steve Cress scored a game-high 28 points and added 12 rebounds.

Sophomore Vinny Smith tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds.

When Knoch's Rob Briggs made a 2-point basket with 2:10 left to play, Mars held a 58-54 lead.

The next points the Knights scored came on a 3-pointer from Briggs with 16 seconds to go. Knoch tallied only five points in the final 3:40.

"I actually think our troubles on offense began earlier in the quarter, with about five or six minutes to go," said Knights coach Chris Andreassi. "I don't think we executed our offense effectively and we started taking shots too early."

Knoch had the upper hand early in the game, holding a 16-7 advantage with 53 seconds left in the first period.

But Cress' nine points in the second quarter helped the Planets to grab a 32-29 lead by intermission.

"I just think that shows how much growing up we've done this season as a team," said Cannon. "Earlier in the season, we probably would have fallen apart and wouldn't have come back."

Briggs, slowed by an ankle injury, did not start but did record 14 points and seven rebounds for the Knights (13-9, 7-4).

Mike Gallagher added 14 points, including four of the Knights' 11 3-pointers in the first half, and Reiser contributed 12 points.

Also contributing to the win were Mars seniors Chris Cassidy, Dan Colbert and Ryan Nearhoof.

With their season in the hands of the team they just defeated, the Planets must wait and see if a WPIAL playoff game is in their future. Mars would enter postseason play on a five-game winning streak.

"We've done everything we can do," said Carmody. "If this was our seniors' last game, what a way to go out."

KNOCH 57Shawn Samek 2 0-0 5, Mike Gallagher 5 0-0 14, Andrew Wirtz 2 0-0 6, Kyle Reiser 5 1-2 12, Jake McTighe 1 0-0 2, Rob Briggs 5 1-2 14, Alex Whisler 2 0-0 4.

Totals: 22 2-4 57.

MARS 65Chris Herold 1 4-5 6, Dan Colbert 1 0-0 3, D.J. Cannon 6 2-5 18, Vinny Smith 5 0-1 10, Steve Cress 10 6-6 28, Ryan Nearhoof 0 0-0 0, Dave Petruska 0 0-0 0, Chris Cassidy 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 23 12-17 65.

Knoch 16 13 17 11—57Mars 11 21 15 18—653-point goals: Knoch 11 (Gallagher 4, Briggs 3, Wirtz 2, Reiser, Samek); Mars 7 (Cannon 4, Cress 2, Colbert)

JV: Mars 55-39 (M-Szilogy 14 points; K-Bateman 12)

Saturday: Valley at Knoch