WPIAL champion Mars rolls past rival Hampton in PIAA first round
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Friday, March 9, 2018 | 11:57 PM
Seven days have passed since the planets aligned and Mars claimed its first WPIAL boys basketball title.
One might wonder after such a big win if there was a chance for a hangover while playing against a familiar team like Section 2-5A rival Hampton.
Backed by standout senior Robby Carmody's 25 points, Mars made it through one of the more challenging rounds of the PIAA bracket and downed the Talbots for the fourth time this season, 68-47, in the first round of the PIAA playoffs at Fox Chapel.
“This is honestly the toughest game to get ready for mentally,” said Robby Carmody, who was named Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year on Thursday. “Coming off a WPIAL championship and playing a team that we've seen three times before, you have to bring it mentally and be ready to go from the tip. We knew we couldn't be stagnant and expect to win; teams like (Hampton) win all the time.”
Mars (22-4) advances to the second round of the PIAA tournament and will face Trinity (21-5) on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. The game will be a rematch of the WPIAL semifinal game where Mars downed the Hillers, 56-39.
The Planets never trailed. The 6-foot-4 Carmody, a Notre Dame commit, scored the game's first points on a 3-pointer. The Talbots' Isaac DeGregorio responded with a 3-pointer of his own to tie the game, but the Planets were just too strong. DeGregorio led Hampton (11-14) with 14 points.
“I thought that leading into tonight's game our team's confidence was OK,” Hampton coach Joe Lafko said. “I don't think we came out with the energy that I would have liked in the first half.”
Mars' Cade Hetzler scored on a put-back to bring the score to 5-2 before Carmody and Co. went on a 15-6 run to close out the first quarter with a 22-14 lead.
“Tonight was a good thing for us to get rolling and get our legs back under us,” Mars coach Rob Carmody said. “We had some really good moments and did some really good things. We were sloppy at times, and we have some stuff to clean up if we want to continue to play.”
Carmody set the tone and was nearly perfect from behind the 3-point line, scoring 16 points in the first quarter.
Shots didn't fall in the second quarter for Hampton. The Talbots managed just eight points. The Talbots managed to slow Carmody a bit, but the strategy left others open on the perimeter. Hetzler added a 3-pointer early in the second quarter and junior Andrew Recchia scored on a layup to extend Mars' lead to 27-16.
“We are a basketball team, we are not Robby Carmody and four other guys standing around,” Coach Carmody said. “We have guys who are more than capable of scoring. At this point and time in the year that's important. You're not going to win with one guy playing.”
Sophomore Michael Carmody added a sky hook from the baseline late in the first half to give the Planets a commanding 42-22 lead going into the intermission.
The Talbots came out of halftime, played inspired basketball and went on a 9-5 run to cut into Mars' lead at 51-34 with 2 minutes, 37 seconds remaining in the quarter. Hampton outscored Mars, 16-11, in the third quarter but trailed 53-38 going into the final frame.
“I told them at halftime that the energy had to improve, and I thought that we did that in the second half, especially in the third quarter,” Lafko said.
Hampton's Colby Mignogna scored eight of his 10 points in the third quarter to help pace the Talbots' offense.
It was Michael Carmody's five points in the fourth quarter that helped pace the Planets.
Coach Carmody is looking forward to another tough matchup against the Hillers on Tuesday. Trinity is a team that resembles Mars with a pair of 6-foot-7 twins in seniors Zach and Jeff Ecker.
“(Trinity is) very good and very big,” Carmody said. “At this point in time, you're one of the last 16 teams playing on the state. You're going to run into teams that are well coached, talented, tough and athletic.”
William Whalen is a freelance writer.
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