ADAMS TWP — If the Mars boys and girls basketball teams keep this up, opponents will think twice about coming into their house to play over the holidays.

Both teams dismantled the competition in the first round of the Mars Christmas Tournament on Tuesday, as the Mars boys beat Slippery Rock 71-53 while the Planets girls crushed South Allegheny, 69-27.

The boys championship game, pitting Mars against Northgate, will begin at 6 p.m. today while the Mars girls will face Seneca Valley at 7:30.

The key to the Planets' win in the boys contest against Slippery Rock was the team's ability to score consistently from the inside and from the perimeter.

Mars tallied nine 3-point goals, with five of them coming from senior Tim Frye.

Sophomore forward Steve Cress, who scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, took care of things on the inside.

Included in the performance was a perfect 9-of-9 effort from the free throw line.

"(Cress) had been struggling from the line," said Mars coach Rob Carmody. "Hopefully, this performance tonight will serve as a springboard for him.

"Steve has so many physical tools," added Carmody. "Sometimes his biggest problem is the confidence he has in himself. But he has unlimited potential."

Slippery Rock coach Sean Strickland knew his team would have matchup problems right from the start.

The Planets (7-4) opened a 22-8 advantage after one period.

"(Mars) has the makings of a great high school basketball team," Strickland said. "They've got three guards who can all handle the ball and they've got good young post players to go with it."

Frye led all scorers with 26 points, 18 of them coming in the first half.

The Rockets stayed with the Planets in the second quarter, getting outscored by a slim 19-18 margin.

But Slippery Rock (1-8) scored just eight points in each of the first and third quarters, while Mars tallied a combined 40 points in those periods.

Bill Stoughton led the Rockets with 11 points and Rhett Gordon added 10.

"We have three players who are averaging near double figures in points," said Strickland of Dave Hewitt, Gordon and Stoughton. "But aside from Rhett, we have no one right now who can create his own shot."

The Planets forced the Gladiators into 32 turnovers in this blowout win.After posting a 27-14 lead by halftime, Mars outscored the visitors 42-13 in the final 16 minutes."Creating turnovers is one of the strengths of our defense," said Mars coach Dave Sylvester. "But I think we were a bit sloppy tonight. I'd give this performance a 'C'."Freshman forward Lily Grenci led the Planets with 15 points off the bench."She's the one player who is willing to go inside for us right now and she's really helped us out," Sylvester said.Abby Marshall added 11 points for Mars, while Julie Utz offered 10.Mars led just 10-7 after one period, getting out-rebounded 7-6 in the quarter. But by the end of the game, the Planets ruled the boards with a 37-29 mark.South Allegheny (2-8) was led by Liz Piekut's 11 points.Boys BoxMARS 71Charlie Jaicks 6 0-0 15, Robbie Herold 1 0-0 3, Tim Frye 10 1-2 26, Steve Cress 7 9-9 23, Vinny Smith 2 0-0 4, Chris Herold 0 0-1 0, Brian Hughes 0 0-0 0, Bryan Humphreys 0 0-0 0, Steve Jackson 0 0-0 0, Dan Colbert 0 0-0 0, Brian Routhieaux 0 0-0 0, Ryan Schroth 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 10-12 71.SLIPPERY ROCK 53Rhett Gordon 5 0-0 10, Joe Bryan 4 1-2 9, Ben Collins 2 1-2 5, Bill Stoughton 4 2-4 11, Brian Kelly 3 2-2 8, John Bennett 0 1-1 1, Dave Hewitt 4 0-1 9, Kendall Mahan 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 7-12 53.3-point goals:Hewitt, Stoughton; Frye 5, Jaicks 3, R. Herold.Today:Slippery Rock vs. OLSH, Consolation final of Mars Tournament; Mars vs. Northgate, Championship final of Mars TournamentGirls BoxMARS 69Abby Marshall 5 0-2 11, Julie Utz 3 1-2 10, Megan Gibson 1 4-4 6, Cara Hudac 1 0-0 2, Ellen Kenitz 1 0-0 2, Vanessa Pappas 1 0-0 2, Haley Geyer 3 1-2 8, Alina Hudac 3 0-0 6, Lily Grenci 7 1-3 15, Maggie Bulman 2 3-5 7, Justine Funk 0 0-0 0. Totals: 27 10-18 69.SOUTH ALLEGHENY 27Missy Gasdick 2 1-5 5, Lauren Pavlecic 0 1-2 1, Ashlee Wygonik 5 0-3 10, Liz Piekut 2 7-10 11, Ashley White 0 0-0 0, Jessica Humanic 0 0-0 0. Totals: 9 9-20 27.3-point goals:Utz 3, Marshall, Geyer.Today:South Allegheny vs. Sto-Rox, Consolation final of Mars Tournament; Mars vs. Seneca Valley, Championship final of Mars Tournament