ADAMS TWP — Once the Mars boys basketball team builds a lead, it's difficult to erase.

Knoch learned that the hard way Friday night in front of a near capacity crowd at Mars Area High School.

The Planets went on a 16-0 run in the second quarter and never relinquished the double-digit advantage en route to a 54-38 Section 1-AAA victory over the rival Knights.

Mars jumped out to an early 7-2 lead, but Knoch kept pace with the Planets and cut the deficit to 17-16 early in the second frame.

However, the Planets reeled off 16 straight points to seize control of the contest.

“It's the snowball effect,” said Mars coach Rob Carmody. “Momentum kept going and our guys just took advantage of it.”

Mitch Buzard had six points and took a charge during the surge, while Owen Nearhoof nailed a pair of 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions.

The offense was clicking, but a suffocating defense was the most influential aspect of the decisive run.

“Over the last few weeks, we have started to play better and better basketball,” said Carmody. “That was probably the best stretch of defense we played all year.

“Our guys were just flying around,” Carmody continued. “Josh (Goetz) was outstanding (in the post) using his frame and keeping his hands up.”

Mars (15-6, 11-3) took a 33-20 advantage into halftime and Knoch (10-12, 8-6) never got closer than a 12 -point deficit from there.

The Planets didn't give the Knights any help with a comeback bid. Mars committed just one turnover through three quarters and finished with five.

“Mars played a great game. They're well coached and they really came to play tonight,” said Knoch coach Josh Shoop. “They have four guards on the floor at all times and they can all handle, they can all shoot. It's tough to come back against a team like that.

“The learning lesson is you can't give up 16-0 runs. You just can't do that,” added Shoop. “You have to suck it up, find a way to get it done and tonight we just didn't get it done.”

Nearhoof led the Planets with 14 points and Buzard tallied 11.

Goetz finished with 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting, grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, blocked two shots and had an assist.

As a team, Mars shot 51.4 percent from the floor and was 7-for-14 from beyond the arc.

Shoop believes his Knights can learn from seeing Mars move the ball effectively and wait for a high-percentage shot.

“Sometimes, we look at the first open shot like it's the only shot we're ever going to get,” he explained. “I think Mars showed us tonight that if you're patient, you can just work and work and work and get better shots.”

Dakota Bruggeman led Knoch with 12 points on 6-for-14 shooting with a game-high nine rebounds. Tavita Lio dished out a game-high six assists.

Garrett Ashbaugh posted a solid all-around game for Mars with seven points, five steals, four rebounds and three assists. Zach May recorded seven points and four assists.

Both teams have qualified for the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. Mars earned second in the section, while Knoch took third.

“We're definitely heading in the right direction,” said Carmody.

The Knights will enter the playoffs on a two-game skid.

“The positive is we get to keep playing, I get to keep coaching,” said Shoop. “Who knows what we can make happen?”

KNOCH 38Austin Miller 2-6 0-0 6, Jack Boros 1-5 0-0 2, Alex Strezeski 1-3 0-0 2, Dakota Bruggeman 6-14 0-0 12, Tavita Lio 1-4 0-0 2, Marc Vaughan 2-10 0-0 4, Michael Schenck 3-5 1-1 7, Philip Kletzil 0-0 0-0 0, James Larrimer 0-0 0-0 0, Mike Cunningham 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Tuzikow 1-1 1-1 3, Benjamin Pfeiffer 0-0 0-0 0, Alexander Campbell 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 17-48 2-2 38.

MARS 54Garrett Ashbaugh 1-4 4-4 7, Owen Nearhoof 4-9 3-4 14, Josh Goetz 6-6 1-3 13, Zach May 3-5 0-1 7, Mitch Buzard 3-9 3-4 11, Ben Erdahl 1-1 0-0 2, Jason Lozzi 0-0 0-0 0, Brett Kloc 0-0 0-0 0, Adam Bayuk 0-1 0-0 0.

Totals: 18-35 11-16 54.

Knoch 14 6 8 10—38Mars 17 16 10 11—543-point goals: Knoch 2-9 (Miller 2-5, Strezeski 0-1, Bruggeman 0-1, Lio 0-2); Mars 7-14 (Nearhoof 3-7, Buzard 2-4, May 1-1, Ashbaugh 1-2).

JV Score: Knoch 50, Mars 35 (K: Larrimer 15; M: Erdahl 10)

Monday: Shenango at Mars