Mars falls in WPIAL quarterfinals to Penn Hills
COLLIER TWP — Mars found itself on the wrong end of a cat-and-mouse game Wednesday night.
Penn Hills jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead and the Planets never did catch the Indians in a 60-41 loss in a WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinal playoff at Chartiers Valley High School.
“What we wanted to do was play at a faster tempo and not allow them to set their defense,” Mars coach Rob Carmody said. “But to do that, we needed to get stops and they hit a lot of shots, got some second-chance points.”
Following Penn Hills’ initial rush, the Planets (15-9) Mars got a pair of buckets from Tasso Sfanos and a trey from Deven Koch to move within 8-7, but the Indians closed the first quarter with a 10-3 spurt and the lead was not threatened again.
Mars has scored at least 70 points in 12 games this season, but had netted just 16 by halftime Wednesday.
“They’re a well-coached team with some really good athletes, but our guys played great team defense,” said Penn Hills coach Chris Giles. “That’s what we hang our hat on.”
Sfanos led Mars with 22 points, including 16 in the second half.
Noah Barren had 18 for Penn Hills (19-3). He scored three baskets in the team’s 8-0 run to begin the game. His teammate, Daemar Kelly, contributed 15 points.
Mars will now turn its attention to making the state playoffs out of the consolation bracket. It will face Fox Chapel, which lost to North Hills, Friday at a site and time to be determined.
“Kids are resilient,” said Carmody. “We are who we are. We know what we need to do to win games.”
MARS 41
Austin Campbell 2 0-0 4, Tasso Sfanos 9 1-3 22, Remi Black 3 1-2 7, Ryan Ceh 1 2-2 5, Deven Koch 1 0-0 3, Drew Navetta 0 0-0 0, Brady Jordan 0 0-0 0, Ian Zukowski 0 0-0 0, Elias Grenier 0 0-0 0, Blake Yates 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 4-7 41.
PENN HILLS 60
Noah Barren 9 0-0 18, Julian Dugger 5 0-1 10, Daemar Kelly 5 4-4 15, Kenyan Smith 1 0-0 2, Michai Oliver 2 0-0 4, Robert Thomas 5 1-1 11. Totals: 27 5-6 60.
Mars 10 6 11 14 — 41
Penn Hills 18 11 16 15 — 60
3-point goals: Mars 5 (Sfanos 3, Ceh, Koch); Penn Hills 1 (Kelly).
Friday: Mars vs. Fox Chapel, consolation bracket, TBD
