Taller Talbots too much for Planets
ADAMS TWP — Facing Hampton, which has three starters who stand 6-feet-5 or taller, including 6-8 senior T.J. Brown, Mars must have felt like it was playing in a redwood forest.
The Planets boys basketball team made several runs at the Talbots, but Hampton pulled away late for a 67-51 Section 1-AAA win Tuesday night.
Trailing 56-40 after three quarters, Christian Locher scored Mars' first eight points of the final period, with his layup with 5:30 left cutting Hampton's edge to 10 points.
The Planets managed only three points the rest of the game.
"We played hard, but when you're facing a team like Hampton, you have to do more than that," said Mars coach Rob Carmody. "You have to play smart as well."
The Planets (2-2, 1-1) were done in by two players: 6-7 senior Bill Luther and 6-5 senior Tim Donegan, who scored 32 and 20 points, respectively.
Luther tallied 19 of his points in the first half and ended the game with five 3-pointers.
"You see a player for the other team stepping out and shooting 20-foot jumpers, and you think that's a good thing — until he starts making them," said Carmody.
Donegan put up 12 of his points in the third quarter.
"It's a nice luxury to have two guys who can score like that," said Hampton coach Joe Lafko. "Both began starting their sophomore year and they've averaged double digits per game since then."
At the other end of the floor, Mars succeeded in getting outside attempts as well. The Planets drained 10 3-pointers, including seven by Locher, who led the team with 27 points.
Ian Hindley added 13 points for Mars.
"Our plan was to attack the zone defense in the middle," said Carmody. "If you're able to do that, the defense will compress and you can kick it back outside.
"We did a nice job of that. It kept us in the game," added Carmody.
Hampton (5-0, 2-0) is the defending WPIAL Class AAA champion.
The Planets host the Mars Christmas Tournament Monday and Tuesday.
HAMPTON 67Bill Luther 11 5-6 32, Christian Dill 1 0-4 2, Brian Steele 0 4-4 4, Tim Donegan 9 2-4 20, T.J. Brown 4 1-3 9, Nate Winek 0 0-0 0, Nate Sayles 0 0-0 0.
Totals: 25 12-21 67.
MARS 51Christian Locher 9 2-2 27, Luke Gruber 1 0-0 3, Mike Lindenbaum 1 0-0 3, Ian Hindley 4 4-5 13, Tim Vandall 1 0-0 2, Ibn Hoffman 1 1-2 3, Brad Weischedel 0 0-0 0.
Totals: 17 7-9 51.
Hampton 17 18 21 11—67Mars 8 16 16 11—513-point goals: Hampton 5 (Luther 5); Mars 10 (Locher 7, Gruber, Lindenbaum, Hindley).
JV score: Hampton 39-29 (M-Alex Locher, 9 points)
