Mars going to title game for 1st time

Cruises to win despite illness of star Carmody

For the first two quarters, star senior guard Robby Carmody carried Mars, scoring 21 of the team’s 23 points. Carmody proceeded to the locker room at halftime and got sick, fighting the remnants of a recent bout with pneumonia.

Then his teammates went out in the second half and made Carmody and Mars feel a lot better.

Carmody played the second half, but his teammates lifted the load off him and pushed the Planets to a spot they have never been to before — a WPIAL title game. Mars defeated Trinity, 56-39, in a Class 5A semifinal Tuesday night at Baldwin.

The win puts Mars (20-4) into the title game Friday for the first time in school history. Trinity (20-5) also was trying to make the championship for the first time.

“The second half was a completely different game,” said Rob Carmody, Robby’s father and Mars’ coach. “At halftime, Robby was throwing up because I don’t know what’s in his lungs. Our other guys said, ‘The second half we’re going to carry you,’ and they did.”

Robby Carmody, a Notre Dame recruit, finished with 30 points and 12 rebounds. He moved up four spots on the WPIAL all-time scoring list to 14th with 2,250 points, only two behind former Blackhawk star Dante Calabria.

In the first half, Carmody was 6 of 13 from the field while the rest of the team was 1 of 15. Mars led at halftime by only 23-18. Carmody’s brother, sophomore forward Mike Carmody, scored all of his nine points in the second half and junior guard Andrew Recchia scored eight of his 10 in the second half. Robby Carmody had only one field goal in the second half while his teammates scored 24 points.

“We knew we had to have some guys hit some big shots in the second half,” Robby Carmody saud. “Right off the bat, Mike hit two big 3pointers and that kind of got us going. We never looked back from there.”

The game was physical with plenty of talking among players. Trinity coach Tim Tessmer didn’t particularly like his team’s attitude.

“We didn’t play real well, but we got too caught up in too much other stuff. That was it as far as I’m concerned,” Tessmer said.

Other semifinal

For the first time in 21 years, Franklin Regional is going to a title game. The Panthers knocked off Highlands, 48-40, in the other 5A semifinal.

Highlands had a six-point lead after one quarter and Franklin Regional led by only 17-14 at halftime. Franklin Regional’s offense came alive some in the second half. Panthers senior guard Nate Leopold, who had 13 points, knocked down a 3pointer and senior Hunter Stonecheck added a layup to open the second half and the Panthers had some breathing room.

In the fourth quarter, Highlands senior guard Christian Tanilli made two 3-pointers to bring Highlands within 34-33, but clutch free-throw shooting by junior guard Nick Leopold, who led the team with 16 points, helped Franklin Regional keep its edge down the stretch, with Leopold making 10 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter.