KENNEDY TWP — It was the type of first quarter Mars could not afford to have.

The Planets were knocked against the ropes in the opening minutes of their WPIAL Class AAA boys basketball quarterfinal playoff against top-seeded Chartiers Valley and faced a 14-point hole following eight minutes of play.

Though Mars rebounded, with defeat not being a done deal until late in the fourth quarter, it never did make up its early deficit in a 74-61 loss to the Colts Friday at Montour High School.

“We actually outscored them 49-48 over the last three quarters,” said Mars coach Rob Carmody. “But you give a team that good that big of a cushion and you are in trouble. In the first quarter, we had that ‘deer in headlights’ look.”

Mars (15-9) cut the Colts’ edge to 10 points several times in the fourth quarter, the last instance coming with Ryan Giallonardo’s two-pointer that made it 66-56 with 1:54 to play. But Mars got no closer.

“I’m proud that the kids never quit,” said Carmody.

“We knew Mars would make a run,” said CV coach Tim McConnell. “They are a good team.”

The Planets trailed 57-40 entering the final period before cutting into CV’s lead, thanks to several turnovers.

“I am concerned with the turnovers we had,” said coach McConnell after his team’s 17 miscues. “We preach valuing the ball every day in practice and we didn’t do that tonight. We were trying to make the fancy passes and that’s not us.”

After Matt McConnell’s 24 first-half points helped give CV a 38-25 lead at the break, Jerrad Tuite stepped up in the second half with 24 more points.

That effort was needed since Mars senior guard Owen Nearhoof took over guarding McConnell over the final two quarters and held him to just five points and none in the fourth period.

“Owen held down the fort for us in the first half (scoring 17 points) and did a great job on defense in the second half,” said Carmody. “That speaks to what kind of player he is.”

Mars shot 20-of-38 from the field. Nearhoof led the Planets with 25 points — including five 3-pointers — and John Castello scored 17.

“All our guys shot the ball well,” said Carmody. “But (21) turnovers hurt us. Chartiers Valley doesn’t need those extra possessions to beat you. They are good enough without them.”

Chartiers Valley (23-1) received 29 points from both Matt McConnell and Tuite.

Mars will qualify for the state playoffs if the Colts reach the WPIAL title game.

MARS 61

Alex Gruber 3 1-2 7, Owen Nearhoof 6 8-11 25, John Castello 8 1-2 17, Ethan Lewis 1 3-4 5, Christian Schmitt 0 2-2 2, Austin Fetsko 0 0-0 0, Nick DeCamp 1 0-0 3, Bailey Trzeciak 0 0-0 0, Ryan Giallonardo 1 0-0 2, Nate Sablowski 0 0-0 0.Totals: 20 15-21 61.

CHARTIERS VALLEY 74

Jerrad Tuite 7 12-17 29, Eddie Flohr 3 0-0 7, Matt McConnell 11 3-6 29, Joe Antonucci 2 1-2 5, Kyle Westover 1 0-0 2, Haedyn Herzer 0 2-2 2. Totals: 24 18-27 74.

Mars 12 13 15 21 — 61

Chartiers Valley 26 12 19 17 — 74

3-point goals: Mars 6 (Nearhoof 5, DeCamp); Chartiers Valley 8 (McConnell 4, Tuite 3, Flohr).