Ambridge bests Mars at buzzer
ROSS TWP — Both head coaches followed the basketball in flight. Only one was going to like its destination.
It was Ambridge.
Robby Carmody's 3-point shot from the right corner deflected off the rim just before the final buzzer Friday night at North Hills, enabling the ninth-seeded Bridgers to hold on for a 46-45 WPIAL Class AAA boys basketball quarterfinal win over Mars.
“I knew that shot was gonna be short. I just had a feeling,” Ambridge coach Mark Jula said.
“Honestly, when it left his hands, I thought it was going in,” Mars coach Rob Carmody said. “When the shot was in the air, I didn't feel anger, I didn't feel sadness ... I felt pride.
“It didn't go our way tonight. But this was the type of game I thought it would be.”
Top-seeded Mars (22-2) had its 17-game winning streak snapped and will face Highlands in a PIAA play-in game Monday night. The Planets led by as many as 11 points twice — including 33-22 with 2:25 left in the third quarter — but could not put the game away.
“Our defense kept us in this,” Jula said. “That team's got some horses and I thought we played them tough defensively the entire way.
“Our defense was the reason we were even in the game at halftime.”
Despite sinking only three of 17 shots from the floor, the Bridgers (16-7) trailed only 18-13 at halftime.
Ambridge did not attain its first lead until Daylon Carter canned a layup for a 38-37 advantage with 5:20 left in the game. The score was tied three times and the lead changed hands four times in the final five minutes.
Carter led Ambridge with 21 points, six rebounds and three steals. Darius Lawrence added 12 points.
Carter has scored more than 1,400 points in his prep career, including 42 against Uniontown in the Bridgers' first-round game Tuesday.
Robby Carmody paced the Planets with 12 points. John Castello had 11 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out with 1:47 remaining.
Alex Gruber had 10 points and four rebounds.
“John was sick as a dog ... I don't even know how he played tonight,” Coach Carmody said. “He's been fighting the flu. He really gutted one out for us.“Whenever it looked like we were going to take control of the game, we'd have a turnover or their guy (Carter) would hit a three or something. He hit some deep shots with hands in his face. He came up big when he had to.”The Bridgers scored only one point in the first quarter and trailed 10-1 when Carter canned their first field goal of the night, a 3-pointer with 7:05 left in the first half.Ambridge missed eight shots and turned the ball over five times before sinking a field goal.“An atrocious start — but our defense held us in,” Jula said.Ambridge scored the final six points of the third quarter to set up a wild finish.A steal and layup by Alex Gruber gave the Planets a 45-43 lead with two minutes left. But Lawrence sank one of two free throws, then hit a layup of his own to give the Bridgers a 46-45 lead with 1:15 on the clock.Christian Schmitt missed a 3-point shot with 21 seconds left, but Lawrence missed a pair of free throws with 9.8 seconds to go, giving Mars one more chance.Ambridge sank 10 of 23 foul shots for the night — three of 11 in the fourth quarter — and Lawrence hit just two if 10 from the charity stripe.“Lawrence never misses at the line,” Jula said. “We sank 36 of 41 in our (playoff) win Tuesday. Go figure.”Mars wasn't stellar from the line, either. The Planets hit nine of 17, including the front end of two one-and-one's.“We gave away some points there and so did they,” Carmody said. “The intensity of the game has a lot to do with that. It drained both teams.“Run suicide drills in practice, then step to the line, even that's not the same as stepping to the line in an intense atmosphere like this.”Carmody called timeout with 6.7 seconds left.Robby Carmody took the inbounds pass, dribbled down the right side and found himself with an open look from the corner.“It was the right choice. It just didn't go,” Coach Carmody said.“We did a good job of forcing him toward a corner there and making them try a 3-point shot at the end,” Jula said. “He was wide open, though. Our guy must have slipped or something.”Mars will try to earn a PIAA Class AAA berth through the play-in round.“We'll give it our best shot,” Coach Carmody said. “I know we were the top seed in this tournament, but there was no clear-cut favorite.“Going into the tournament, I felt nine or 10 teams could win it. Ambridge was one of those teams.”Jula is coaching his seventh high school team and is in his 34th year as a head coach. He reached the 500-win plateau during the regular season.AMBRIDGE 46Roman Shell 1-3 0-0 2, Darius Lawrence 5-10 2-10 12, Daylon Carter 5-12 8-11 21, Tre Thomas 1-1 0-0 3, Tyler Hendon 3-7 0-2 8, Caleb Roderick 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 15-35 10-23 46.MARS 45Aaron Gruber 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Gruber 5-6 0-1 10, John Castello 4-7 3-6 11, Ryan Giallonardo 1-1 2-4 4, Nate Sablowski 2-2 1-1 5, Christian Schmitt 0-3 3-4 3, Robby Carmody 5-15 0-0 12 . Totals: 17-34 9-17 45.Ambridge 1 12 15 18 — 46Mars10 8 15 12 — 453-point goals: Carter 3, Roderick, Herndon 2; Carmody 2Monday: Mars vs. Highlands, PIAA play-in game, TBA
