BUTLER TWP — Rob Carmody has always showcased an aw-shucks attitude about the little town of Mars, Pa., having a formidable boys basketball program.

Behind the grin and stories of out-of-state teams giggling about the Planets' nickname, the 20th-year Mars coach was building a monster.

Following a 70-51 victory over Hampton Friday night in a WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal playoff game at Butler High School, the Planets will once again be in position show everyone how scary they can be.

Mars — which clinched its seventh straight bid to the state playoffs — is one step away from reaching the WPIAL final for the third season in a row. The Planets will take on Trinity in the semifinals Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.

“Our guys take a lot of pride,” Carmody said. “This our 11th straight year in the playoffs, seventh time in the state playoffs and third time in the semifinals. I's a testament to all the kids that have played here and these kids have continued on with that tradition.”

This particular hurdle is one that has been a monster of sorts for Mars. Despite having played for a state crown in 2016, Carmody hasn't been able to reach the WPIAL finals.

“We still have to come Sunday, Monday and can't look ahead,” said senior guard Robby Carmody, who finished with 21 points. “If we get caught looking ahead, we're going to lose Tuesday.”

Mars (19-4) took its first step toward that goal by vanquishing an old rival. The Planets — who now have three double-digit wins over the Talbots this season — fell behind 5-0 in the first 70 seconds.

Isaac Degregorio made a trey and Adam Bittner made a layup to stake Hampton to 5-0 lead.

“We had to settle down a little bit,” Robby Carmody said. “Everyone had a lot of nerves. We knew tonight if we lost our season was going to be done.”

Playing from ahead was never something the Talbots (11-13) were destined for.

Hampton shot 3-of-13 from the field in the first quarter.

“The shots didn't fall for us early on,” Talbots coach Joe Lafko said. “We had some good looks and we needed to make a few of those especially early on to change how the game would be played.”

Mars answered by scoring the next 10 points, going ahead for good, 6-5, following a floater from Brandon Caruso.

In the first half, the Planets hardly missed. Thanks to 10 points from Cade Hetzler, who finished with 17 points, Mars shot 14-of-20 in the first half and built a 33-19 advantage.

Hampton would get the lead down to nine in the second half, 33-24, following a 3-pointer right after the half. Mars would quickly clamp down, responding with a 14-4 run to put the game away.

The Planets overall performance put them in a familiar position. Now, Mars has to find the answer to clear its biggest hurdle.

Getting past the semifinals.

“No, those are different teams and different years,” said Hetzler about if there was extra pressure for the Planets to continue their march. “It's a whole team that has a different mentality and know we can make it there.”

HAMPTON 51

Adam Bittner 5 2-4 14, Isaac Degregorio 3 4-6 13, Colby Mignogna 5 0-0 10, Kyle Constantakis 1 0-0 2, Josh Winek 5 1-3 11, Ryan Dayton 0 0-0 0, Brandon Sickles 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 7-13 51.

MARS 70

Cade Hetzler 7 0-0 17, Michael Carmody 1 0-0 2, Andrew Recchia 6 1-2 14, Brandon Caruso 5 0-0 12, Robby Carmody 8 5-6 21, Luke Morrissey 0 0-0 0, Joe Schnieder 1 0-0 2, Connor Amsler 0 0-0 0, Joseph Craska 0 0-0 0, Ray Kahn 0 0-0 0. Totals: 29 6-8 70.

Hampton 9 10 13 19 — 51

Mars19 14 19 17 — 70

3-point goals: Mars 8 (Hetzler 3, R. Carmody 2, Caruso 2, Recchia). Hampton 5 (Degregorio 3, Bittner 2)

Tuesday: Mars vs. Trinity, site TBD