JEFFERSON TWP — The evening began with Knoch eyeing a share of the Section 1 championship. It ended with the Knights proving they deserved it.

Senior guard Austin Miller scored 24 points — hitting all 10 of his free throws — and the Knights never trailed in a 65-58 home boys basketball victory over rival Mars Friday night.

A Planet win would have earned for Mars (13-7, 10-2) the section title outright, but Knoch's triumph, paired with Indiana's win against Kittanning, means that the Knights, Planets and Indians will all be recognized as section champions.

Knoch (16-4, 10-2) last claimed a piece of a section crown in the 2004-05 season. At the final buzzer Friday night, the Knights' student section stormed the court.

“Winning tonight meant everything,” said Miller. “It's what we've been working for all year. We went from being the third-seed out of the section to possibly being No. 1. That alone is so big.

“Our fans, our student section is the best,” added Miller. “With it being Senior Night, you can't beat this.”

Mars made a run in the fourth quarter, scoring the first seven points of the period to cut its deficit to 51-44. Knoch's Matt Zanella sank a basket to halt the Planets' momentum with 5:20 left in the game. Soon after, the only thing standing it the Knights' way of victory was free throws. Miller and David Gallagher combined to sink all eight of their team's shots from the line in the closing minutes.

“We ended the game making 15-of-17 from the free-throw line,” said Knoch coach Ron McNabb. “A lot of those came when the game was still really close.”

Mars had defeated Knoch 40-38 Jan. 14 on the Planets' floor.

“We shot 26 percent from the floor and had 20 turnovers in that game and we lost by two,” said Miller. “We came away from that game confident. This win tonight did not come as a shock to any of us. As a team, we believed.”

“I told the guys before the game that if they just go out and play hard, we'd give ourselves a good chance to win,” said McNabb. “We gave up a few more points than we are used to, but Mars is well-coached and they have a lot of firepower. I thought our defense played well.”

The Planets entered the contest having scored at least 74 points in seven games this year. Against the Knights, they struggled to find rhythm on offense and were dominated on the boards 41-20.

“They controlled the boards and contested shots,” said Mars coach Rob Carmody. “That's what teams with good defenses do.”

Jim Larrimer scored 13 points for the Knights and Gallagher added 11.

Even with the disappointing loss, Mars still earned a piece of its second straight section championship.

“We held the top spot in the section in our hands,” added Carmody. “Now, it's up to the (WPIAL) committee to decide who is No. 1, 2 and 3. In that respect, this loss could hurt us. But Knoch and Indiana both brought back a lot from last year and we had just Owen (Nearhoof) returning. Nobody outside of our locker room picked us to win the section and we did for the second straight year. I can be nothing but proud of our kids.”

John Castello paced Mars with 14 points and Nearhoof added 13.

MARS 58

Alex Gruber 3 0-0 8, Owen Nearhoof 3 7-12 13, John Castello 5 3-4 14, Christian Schmitt 3 0-0 8, Austin Fetsko 3 0-1 7, Nick DeCamp 3 0-2 6, Nate Sablowski 0 2-2 2. Totals: 20 12-21 58.

KNOCH 65

Austin Miller 6 10-10 24, David Gallagher 3 4-5 11, Stephen Oblich 2 0-0 4, Matt Zanella 3 0-0 6, Jim Larrimer 6 1-2 13, Chris Kier 3 0-0 7, Troy Hixson 0 0-0 0, Aiden Albert 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 15-17 65.

Mars 12 12 13 21 — 58

Knoch14 15 22 14 — 65

3-point goals: Mars 6 (Gruber 2, Schmitt 2, Castello, Fetsko); Knoch 4 (Miller 2, Gallagher, Kier).

JV: Mars 55-44

Saturday: Pine-Richland at Mars

Monday: Knoch at Plum