Moving on
SLIPPERY ROCK — Mars had a play stashed away in the bank — and cashed it in.
Robby Carmody sank a runner in the lane with 1.8 seconds left Tuesday night at Slippery Rock University's Morrow Field House, handing the Planets a 58-56 win over Strong Vincent in a PIAA Class AAA boys basketball tournament game.
“We practice situational plays all the time,” Mars coach Rob Carmody said. “We actually had that play ready for last Friday (against Clearfield), but never used it.
“We executed the play well and they defended it. Robby got off a floater and it went in ... Sometimes you get lucky.”
Strong Vincent's attempt at a long inbound pass following the bucket was deflected away by Alex Gruber and Mars (21-6) earned a matchup with section rival Highlands in the quarterfinal round Friday night.
Highlands defeated Hollidaysburg, 68-55, Tuesday night. The Planets defeatted Highlands 89-57 and 68-53 during the regular season.
“They know us and we know them,” senior forward John Castello said. “It should be a good game.”
Mars is happy just to have another game.
The Planets led by as many as 17 (33-16) with 1:32 left in the first half and took a 47-36 lead into the fourth quarter. An 11-0 run by Strong Vincent to begin the final period knotted the game at 47 with 3:47 left.
“Our kids are resilient. They weren't going to pack it in,” Strong Vincent coach Shannon Pullium said. “Our season was on the line at that point and we played like it.”
A three-point play by Robby Carmody regained the lead for Mars and a pair of free throws by Castello gave the Planets a 55-51 edge with 1:17 remaining.
The Colonels (19-8) got a lay-up from Michael Stone and Mars answered with a Christian Schmitt free throw with 40 seconds to go. David Morris — Strong Vincent's leading scorer with 19 points per game — drained a deep trey with 20 seconds left to tie the game.
Mars got the ball across midcourt and called time with 12 seconds left.
“We knew the play we wanted to run,” Robby Carmody said. “There's a lot of motion to it and it's a good play to get off a shot quickly.”
Alex Gruber set the screen on the play, Castello handed the ball to Carmody, who did the rest.
“Their kid made a good shot,” Pullium said. “Mars has a good team. But I'm proud of my team the way we hung in.”
Carmody wound up with 21 points, five assists and three steals. Castello had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while Schmitt contributed 13 points, 12 in the first half.
Mars had eight of its 14 turnovers in the final quarter and missed its first six shots to start the frame.
“We got sloppy, made some dumb passes ... We lost our composure for a while, but got it back when we needed it,” Robby Carmody said.
Morris led Strong Vincent with 14 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Bryon Williams had 11 points and 11 rebounds while Simeal Wofford had 10 points and five rebounds.
The Colonels had a 35-27 edge in rebounding, 21-11 in the first half.“They are great athletes and they know how to get in position,” Castello said. “They were giving us trouble inside all night.“We've been involved in close games like this before. It feels good to come out on the right side of this one.”Coach Carmody wasn't surprised the game wound up close.“We missed chances to extend the lead earlier, especially in the first half,” he said. “We led by 17 and had the ball. If we push the lead to 20 there, who knows?“But these are the state playoffs. You expect this. You're going to face adversity. We got a couple of guys (Steve and John Castello) in foul trouble and Nate Sablowski came in and gave us some critical minutes in the third quarter.“You need stuff like that. It doesn't have to be pretty. Just find a way to win,” the coach added.STRONG VINCENT 56Simeal Wofford 4-8 0-0 10, David Morris 5-17 3-5 14, Bryon Williams 3-4 5-10 11, Jerome Henderson 3-8 1-2 8, Michael Stone 5-8 0-1 10, Tahjmere Jones 1-5 0-0 3, Aje Gore 0-2 0-0 0, Daryl Freeman 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Darby 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 21-54 9-18 56.MARS 58Aaron Gruber 1-3 0-0 3, Alex Gruber 2-3 1-4 5, John Castello 6-9 2-2 14, Christian Schmitt 4-11 3-4 13, Robby Carmody 7-10 6-8 21, Steve Castello 0-4 2-2 2, Nate Sablowski 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 20-42 14-20 58.Strong Vincent 10 11 15 20 — 56Mars21 14 12 11 — 583-point goals: Wofford 2, Morris, Henderson, Jones; Aa. Gruber, Schmitt 2, CarmodyFriday: Mars vs. Highlands, site and time TBA
