WPIAL boys basketball playoffs: Mars falls just short of 5A title game in OT loss to Peters Township
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Mars' Ben Detisch (35) takes a look at the scoreboard in the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball semifinals against Peters Township on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at Moon High School. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Austen Wroblewski (5) pulls up for a jump shot against Peters Township in the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at Moon High School. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Will Wilson (10) tries to make his way around a Peters Township defender in the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at Moon High School. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Austen Wroblewski (5) runs back down the court after making a 3-pointer in front of the Peters Township student section in the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at Moon High School. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Austen Wroblewski (5), Ben Detisch (35) and Drew Navetta (4) get ready for overtime against Peters Township in the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at Moon High School. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Drew Navetta (4) inbounds the ball against Peters Township in the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at Moon High School. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Drew Navetta (4) makes a lay up over a Peters Township defender in the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at Moon High School. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Austin Campbell (1) makes a lay up against Peters Township in the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at Moon High School. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Nicholas Santoro (21) celebrates after a timeout in the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball semifinals against Peters Township on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at Moon High School. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Austin Campbell (1) gets ready to resume play against Peters Township in the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at Moon High School. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle
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Mars' Austen Wroblewski (5) makes his way around a Peters Township defender towards the basket in the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at Moon High School. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle
MOON TWP — Mars was a 19-mile drive from the University of Pittsburgh’s Petersen Events Center, but only the length of a paper clip away from a win Tuesday night that would’ve gotten them the rest of the way.
Austen Wroblewski’s 3-point try from the right wing smacked off the right side of the rim, keeping his team’s WPIAL Class 5A semifinal game with sixth-seeded Peters Township stuck at 48 points apiece as the buzzer sounded on regulation.
The Indians surged ahead early in overtime, putting an end to the No. 10 Planets’ hopes of a championship run by a 58-52 final at Moon High School.
Mars, which has already clinched one of WPIAL’s eight PIAA Tournament berths, will play top-seed Montour in Thursday’s third-place game at a site and time to be determined.
“They say football’s a game of inches,” Mars coach Kobe Phillippi said outside a somber Planets locker room after the loss. “I think basketball might be even closer, you know? (If) that ball is 2 inches one way, it’s a different atmosphere.”
Wroblewski, who had 15 points, had enough time for one dribble after taking a sideline inbound pass from Austin Campbell. As he let loose, he was contested by the Indians’ Lucas Rost and Dylan Donovan.
“There were only two seconds left,” PT coach Joe Urmann said with Paramore’s “Ain’t It Fun” blasting from down the hall and players pouring out of the dressing room beaming. “They looked like they were in a box formation and they were going to run the Brad Stevens box play where you throw it across the floor to the weak side and then set a screen. I was trying to alert our guys to that.
“I don’t know if they weren’t running that play or if they just didn’t throw it there, but they ended up getting it to (No.) 5, which we kind of felt like it was going to be in his hands. We just told our guys, ‘Don’t let (No.) 5 catch it with a head of steam. Make him catch it on his heels, make him catch it backwards.’”
Wroblewski wasn’t afforded much time or space to move. He put the ball up with half a second left on the clock.
“It takes your breath away when that ball goes in the air,” Urmann said.
Ten seconds earlier, Ben Detisch poked away a Nick McCullough inbounding pass, allowing Drew Navetta to scoop it up before a Planets (14-11) timeout. Campbell was fouled getting it across mid-court out of that stoppage.
“He drew up a play to get the ball in, and I was the guy to get it,” Wroblewski said. “I knew there was two seconds, so I knew I had basically one, two dribbles to go. It just fell short.”
The Mars portion of the crowd let out a collective groan when the try didn’t fall.
“I mean, every shot I take, I think it’s going to go in, so, you know, I was surprised,” Wroblewski said. “We still have a chance to win after that, and we should’ve won. It’s tough.”
“Overtime’s a funny thing, I think,” Urmann said. “You know, you go into overtime and the tone is established really quick. I think the first basket in overtime is huge.”
Rost’s mid-range jumper 25 seconds into the extra period was the 13th — and final — lead change of the night. The back-and-forth game was tied on six different occasions, and neither side led by more than five until Rost’s pair of makes from the free-throw line with 1:54 to play.
That was part of a 7-1 Peters Township (18-7) run during that frame. Wroblewski fed the ball to Detisch for a trey in response, then Will Wilson came out of a pile on the other end of the floor with the ball, helping get his team possession on a jump ball.
On almost the same look, Detisch missed the mark on what would’ve tied the game at 55 apiece. Mars fouled Donovan twice after, and he knocked down 3 of 4 free throws to ice the game.
“They hit shots, and we just didn’t capitalize,” Phillippi said. “We had some looks, but we just couldn’t capitalize. Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way.”
Wroblewski said he’ll give it about the duration of the bus ride home to sulk. Then, it’ll be time to refocus for a consolation matchup.
“I want to say an hour, then, you know, just get back right into it,” Wroblewski said. “We still have a chance to win the states. This is big, but we still have a chance, so we’ve got to get through it.”
Peters Township will play No. 4 Chartiers Valley in the district final 7 p.m. Saturday at Petersen Events Center.
MARS 52
Austen Wroblewski 6 0-0 15, Austin Campbell 6 0-0 14, Ben Detisch 4 3-4 12, Will Wilson 2 1-2 6, Drew Navetta 2 0-0 5. Totals: 20 4-6 52.
PETERS TOWNSHIP 58
Dylan Donovan 6 8-10 22, Sean Thelk 3 0-0 9, Jake Wetzel 4 0-1 9, Nick McCullough 4 0-0 8, Lucas Rost 2 4-6 8, Ben Miller 1 0-2 2. Totals: 20 12-18 58.
Mars 9 13 15 11 4 —52
Peters Township 9 11 20 8 10 — 58
3-point goals: Mars 7 (Wroblewski 3, Campbell 2, Wilson, Detisch); Peters Township 6 (Thelk 3, Donovan 2, Wetzel)
Thursday: Mars vs. Montour in WPIAL Class 5A third-place game, TBD
