Mars boys use 4th-quarter rally to defeat Highlands in PIAA quarterfinals

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, March 16, 2018 | 11:09 PM

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Mars proved again that it could win without Notre Dame recruit Robby Carmody on the floor.

After fouling out with 3 minutes, 49 seconds left in the game, his Planets teammates picked up the slack and earned a 60-51 decision over Highlands in a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal before a capacity crowd at Gateway High School.

Mars outscored the Golden Rams, 20-10, in the fourth quarter and 12-7 after Carmody fouled out. Carmody had finished with 24 points. Andrew Recchia scored 13 points and was 8 for 8 from the foul line after Carmody left the game.

The Planets (24-4) will play District 3 champion Milton Hershey (26-3) in the state semifinals Monday at a time and site to be determined. The winner will play for the PIAA title at 8 p.m. Friday at Hershey's Giant Center.

“On Tuesday night when Robby got into foul trouble, the Trinity coach said Mars doesn't know what to do when Robby's not in the game,” Planets coach Rob Carmody of his son's absence. “I think we just proved what we can do when Robby's not in the game. We've got good players.”

Senior guard Cade Hetzler scored all six of his points in the fourth quarter before fouling out with 59 seconds to go.

Sophomore Michael Carmody, Robby's brother and coach Carmody's son, gave Mars the lead for good, 42-41, with 7 minutes, 15 seconds to go and led the team with eight rebounds.

Before fouling out, Carmody moved to eighth on the all-time WPIAL scoring list. He now has 2,332 points, passing Drew Schifino (Penn Hills) who had 2,318 and Danny Fortson (Altoona/Shaler) with 2,331. His next target is Don Hennon (Wampum) with 2,376 points in seventh place.

“We had two sophomores, two juniors and a senior who played (junior varsity) last season out there at the end,” coach Carmody said. “You know what? They believe in one another; they fought; our guys will battle you.”

“When he (Carmody) fouled out, we knew we had to step up and play hard; we can't let our senior season end like this.” said Recchia, whose father, Anthony, played for Kiski Area and Pitt, and whose grandfather, Andrew, played for the former Vandergrift High School.

It was a bittersweet end to another great season for Highlands (20-6), making its second PIAA quarterfinal appearance in school history — both losses to Mars. The Planets have won 16 in a row against the Golden Rams.

Highlands had built a 24-14 lead with 2:10 left in the first half. The Golden Rams committed just one turnover in the first quarter and two in the third — both on offensive fouls.

“I thought in the first half we had that intense focus that we had talked about in our game plan,” Golden Rams coach Tyler Stoczynski said. “In the second half, they upped the energy, and we tried to match it. Recchia didn't miss a free throw down the stretch, and we had some free throws we didn't make. We just didn't make enough plays when it came down to it.”

For Highlands, sophomore Luke Cochran had 16 points, all in the second and third quarters. Shawn Erceg had 13 points and eight rebounds.

Mars was 13 of 18 from the field in the second half.

George Guido is a freelance writer.

Tags: Highlands, Mars