Mars beats Plum
Mars cruised to a 65-46 win over Plum to give head coach Rob Carmody win No. 400 in his 26 year coaching career.
The Planets senior duo of Ryan Ceh and Ian Zukowski combined for 42 points and 16 rebounds in the win.
Ceh and Zukowski deterred shots at the rim throughout the entirety of the game - forcing the Mustangs to settle for long threes offensively. On the other end of the floor, they were a matchup nightmare. Zukowski cleaned up the offensive glass recording a game-high 11 boards while Ceh stretched the floor, connecting on four threes.
“Ryan was a first team all section guy for us last year, he’s a guy who’s getting interest from every level of college [basketball],” Carmody said. “Our unsung guy that doesn’t get talked about but through our first three games has been the most consistent - has been Ian Zukowski. Ian is the energy that got us going.”
The Planets played up-tempo from the opening tip and controlled the game with their energy. The Planets forced turnovers and pushed the pace in transition to take an early lead and never looked back. Plum went on a 13-4 run to begin the third quarter to cut the lead to single digits before Ceh took over the game with a thunderous dunk and a three right before the fourth quarter to restore momentum.
“Plum really plays physical and does some things that our guys had to adapt and adjust to,” Carmody said. “I thought we took a punch there in the third quarter and we figured out a way to fight back. It’s only our third game, the second week of the season so we have a long way to go to be where we want to be but I like where we are headed.”
The Planets assisted on half of their baskets with starting point guard Austin Campbell registering a team-high five assists. Mars snatched down 31 rebounds and dominated the Mustangs in second chance points. Max Grice was the star of the show for Plum, knocking down eight threes to finish with a game-high 28 points.
Carmody said that he is blessed to have spent every year of his coaching career in one place.
“So many people have believed in what we thought we could build here,” Carmody said. “This is not about Rob Carmody - I’ve never scored a point, grabbed a rebound or done anything else but I’ve got to be apart of 26 different groups and their journeys… I’m just blessed to be at one place for 26 years with a community like this on a Friday night to come out and support us. That competiveness still burns in me or I wouldn’t still be doing it but I’m just really lucky. It’s really about our program and the kids who have played in it and less about me. I’ve just been really blessed to have great kids, a great family and great support here.”
Plum 46
Mars 65
Ryan Ceh 10 3-4 27, Ian Zukowski 6 3-4 15, Drew Navetta 2 3-4 8, Remi Black 2 2-3 6, Elias Grenier 1 0-0 3, Brady Jordan 1 1-2 3, Ben Detisch 2 1-2 3… Totals 24 13-19 65
Plum 12 6 15 13 – 46
Mars 17 19 9 20 – 65
