ADAMS TWP — It was a forgettable first half for Andrew Recchia.

Mars' 5-foot-11 point guard scored just six points on 2-of-11 shooting in a big section clash with Shaler in the Planets' boys basketball home opener Friday night. The senior also committed some uncharacteristically bad turnovers.

“There were times when I think Andrew thought he was playing soccer in the first half,” joked Mars coach Rob Carmody. “He looked like Ronaldo out there.”

But Recchia was undaunted, gathering himself at halftime and turning in a 21-point performance in the final two quarters to help Mars to a key 68-62 win over Shaler.

“Coach just lit that fire under me,” Recchia said. “He told me if we're going to win this game, I had to start playing better.”

And Recchia did just that.

Using his quickness and uncanny body control in going to the hoop or hanging in the air for a jumper, Recchia scored nine points in the third quarter, including a buzzer-beater at the end of the frame that he released just before the horn, to help the Planets turn a four-point deficit into a nine-point lead.

Recchia continued his hot streak in the fourth, hitting two 3-pointers and two key free throws late to cement the win.

“He should,” Carmody said of Recchia stepping up in the second half. “The reality is Andrew won us a WPIAL championship, played in a state championship. He's been a two-year starter at point guard — he's played in a lot of big games. In all reality, what you saw in the second half is what he's capable of doing. That's why he's going to Shippensburg.

“If Andrew was 6-foot-1 or 6-foot-2, he'd have all kinds of Division I offers,” Carmody added. “He's got the best set of feet I've ever coached. He's incredibly quick. He can shoot the ball. He can rise up on people. He can finish around people. He can defend. He's a tremendous athlete. But sometimes — it's like your phone goes dead. You have to plug your phone back in.”

Recchia charged up at just the right time.

After taking a 21-14 lead after a briskly played first quarter, the Planets struggled in the second, scoring just six points.

That allowed Shaler (7-3, 2-1) to take a 33-27 lead at the break.

A big turning point for Mars (8-2, 3-0) came late in the third quarter when freshman Zac Schlegel sparked a stretch in which the Planets scored six points in 10 seconds.

His steal after his own layup gave Mars a four-point lead.

“The guy who changed the game for us was a freshman,” Carmody said.

Shaler cut the Mars lead down to 63-62 with two minutes remaining, but a slew of ill-timed turnovers and missed shots doomed the Titans.

“We have to learn how to close out games better,” said Shaler coach Rob Neiderberger. “It's early in the year. We're not peaking yet.”

The Titans are also trying to get the bearing in a new section in a new classification.

Last year Shaler was in 6A, banging with the likes of Butler, North Allegheny, Seneca Valley and Pine-Richland.

“At the end of the day it's one game and we'll see them again at our place later on,” Neiderberger said.

“We're a confident group,” he added. “We feel like we can beat anyone in 5A. I think we really believe we should have beat them. For us, we got used to playing Pine-Richland the last couple of years. Phil Jurkovec — I'd sit there and watch the film and say, 'I don't know what we're going to do with this guy.' I feel like there's no one now who's intimidating to us now.”

Mars also got 15 points from Khori Fusco and 11 from Michael Carmody.

Mekhi Reynolds paced Shaler with 19 points.

Recchia said he think the best basketball is still to come for Mars.

“Collectively, we know we have to play better than we did in the first half, especially the rest of section play. It's just not gonna cut it,” Recchia said. “We have to play better, play harder, play smarter. We had to make it a little bit exciting, right?”

SHALER 62

Mekhi Reynolds 7-19 3-4 19, Brennan Fugh 7-10 0-0 14, Matt Bendel 1-2 2-2 4, Justin Desabate 3-11 1-2 8, Colton Schott 1-1 0-0 2, Darin Mizgarski 0-1 0-0 0, Jake Miller 0-2 0-0 0, Luke Bebout 4-7 0-0 8, Nick Rispoli 3-3 0-0 7, Ethan O'Neill 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 26-57 6-8 62.

MARS 68

Khori Fusco 6-13 0-1 15, Michael Carmody 4-6 3-4 11, Andrew Recchia 9-22 7-9 27, Joe Craska 0-2 0-0 0, Brandon Caruso 1-6 0-0 3, Kevin Ceh 0-0 0-0 0, Zac Schlegel 4-4 2-2 12, Mihali Sfanos 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 24-56 12-16 68.

Shaler 14 19 12 17 — 62

Mars21 6 27 14 — 68

3-point goals: Shaler 4 (Reynolds 2, Desabate, Rispoli); Mars (Fusco 3, Recchia 2, Caruso, Schlegel 2)

JV: Mars 82-56

Friday: Mars at Armstrong