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PIAA boys basketball: How Mars’ focus on shooting the 3 —lots of them — led to berth in states

Mars’ Austen Wroblewski (5) leads the team with 68 3-pointers this season. The Planets broke the program record for 3s with 230 this year. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle

You miss every shot you don’t take. It’s one of sports’ great clichés, but it’s how Mars boys basketball and coach Kobe Phillippi operate from deep.

The Planets have knocked down 230 3-pointers this season, surpassing the previous single-season program record of 229 set during the 2022-23 season.

The approach propelled Mars (14-12) to fourth place in the WPIAL Class 5A tournament. It opens what it hopes will be a deep PIAA tournament, visiting District 3’s West York (20-6) at 6 p.m. Friday.

“Our design is, if you’re open for a 3-point shot, you shoot it,” Phillippi said. “And when you don’t shoot it, that’s when we get worried and you get taken out.”

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