ADAMS TWP — Without the services of two of its top players, Mars still found a way to dominate.

Senior forward Alex Gruber and sophomore guard Robby Carmody both sustained leg injuries in last weekend’s Scott Lang Memorial Tournament and will be out for several weeks.

The Planets, however, featured four players scoring in double figures Friday night as they opened Section 1-AAA play with a convincing 79-54 defeat of visiting Burrell.

John Castello (16 points), Bailey Trzeciak (14), Steve Castello (14) and Aaron Gruber (12) led the way.

Trzeciak and Aaron Gruber were making their first career varsity start.

“Everybody wants more playing time,” said Planets’ coach Rob Carmody. “This was a chance for kids to show they can fill that role. You never want to see players get injured, but in the end, this can make us a better team.”

Following a slow start, Mars led 19-5 after one quarter thanks to a 15-1 run over the last 4:20 of the period.

Burrell seemed to grab a bit of momentum with one second left in the first half when Cody Legters drained a 3-pointer, was fouled and hit a free throw to cut the Planet lead to 38-27.

But John Castello received the inbound pass and threw up a near-full court shot that went in.

The Mars bench erupted and headed to the locker room in celebration of the improbable three points.

“We fought back and we get that four-point play there,” said Burrell coach Shawn Bennis. “The kid for Mars made a great shot, what else can you say?”

The Bucs (1-3) never managed a threat in the second half, thanks in part to Mars’ outside shooting. The Planets hit 12 three-pointers in the game, five of them coming in the final two quarters.

Despite the absence of Alex Gruber and Robby Carmody, who last year combined to average nearly 20 rebounds per game, Mars owned the boards by a count of 47-21.

John Castello paced the Planets with 18 boards.

“You’re going to win a lot of basketball games when you can double up the other team in rebounds,” said Rob Carmody.

Nick Kotecki scored 12 points to lead Burrell and Brendan Lettrich added 10.

“We’re a half-court set team,” said Bennis. “Mars doesn’t allow you to do that. They speed things up on you and tonight, we just seemed to be a step slower the whole game.”

Coach Carmody said he hopes to have Robby Carmody and Alex Gruber back at the beginning of January.

“We want to win, but when you look at the long term, their health is way more important,” he said. “We don’t want them coming back at 75 percent.”

BURRELL 54

Max Garda 1 4-4 6, Cody Legters 2 1-1 7, Brendan Lettrich 4 2-4 10, Nick Kotecki 2 7-8 12, Lucas Cable 3 0-0 6, Devon Resnick 1 2-2 5, Jack Ryan 2 0-1 4, Dom Zottola 1 2-2 4, Zach Gimbel 0 0-2 0, Brandon Artman 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 18-24 54.

MARS 79

Aaron Gruber 4 0-0 12, Cade Hetzler 0 3-4 3, John Castello 7 1-2 16, Bailey Trzeciak 4 2-2 14, Brent Ashbaugh 0 2-2 2, Steve Castello 4 4-5 14, Ryan Giallonardo 1 0-1 2, Christian Schmitt 2 3-4 7, Nate Sablowski 1 2-2 4, Ben Perdziola 1 0-0 2, Ben Lewis 1 0-0 3, Sam Morrissey 0 0-2 0, Joe Horvat 0 0-0 0, Nate Rosswog 0 0-0 0, Mike Wright 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 17-24 79.

Burrell 5 22 9 18 — 54

Mars19 22 20 18 — 79

3-point goals: Burrell 4 (Legters 2, Kotecki, Resnick); Mars 12 (Gruber 4, Trzeciak 4, S. Castello 2, J. Castello, Lewis).

Tuesday: Mars at Valley