Feb 21, 2020 3 min read

PITTSBURGH – Coach Dave Mislan and the South Fayette boys basketball team knew who they needed to stop.

For the opening eight minutes, the Lions stopped, frustrated and put Michael Carmody into foul trouble.

After that, Carmody threw around his 6-6, 291-pound frame under the basket and presented one problem after the next for the Lions. Scoring a game-high 23 points and grabbing 16 rebounds, Carmody led third-seeded Mars to a 57-44 win over No. 6 South Fayette in a WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal game Friday night at North Hills Middle School.

“Everyone knows (who to stop) and it doesn’t matter because he’s relentless,” Mars coach Rob Carmody said of his son.

Carmody scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including a layup with 6:23 remaining to break a 38-38 tie and give Mars (18-5) the lead for good.

“It’s the focus of everyone’s game play, I’m sure,” Mislan said. “He’s a big presence. He was really big in crunch time, especially with the offensive rebounding.”

The loss is the fifth straight in the quarterfinals for South Fayette (16-8) since 2011. The Lions can still advance to the PIAA tournament if the two-time defending WPIAL champion Fightin’ Planets win in the semifinals against Chartiers Valley Tuesday night. It is the fifth straight season Mars has advanced to the semifinals.

Mars first took command of the game in the latter stages of the second quarter. Carmody, playing with two fouls since less than six minutes into the game, sparked a six-point run with a layup and pair of free throws as the Fightin’ Planets took a 28-20 lead into halftime.

Cutting the deficit to one possession throughout most of the third quarter, South Fayette failed to make the shots to put it over the top. Missing all nine three-pointers in the first half, the Lions found very little luck in the final two quarters, finishing the night 2-for-20 from behind the arc.

“We thought we had to shoot it well because you aren’t going to get offensive rebounds. We aren’t big to begin with. We didn’t shoot it well. We had our chances.”

Mislan watched his group clang one shot after another from deep while Mars had multiple instances of miscommunication in the first half, leading to wide-open three-point attempts that failed to fall into the basket.

“Watching and scouting them we were concerned,” Rob Carmody said. “Dave does an unbelievable job at getting those guys open shots. It snowballs like anything else. I’ve seen them make six or seven in a row. They have that kind of offensive capability. It just sometimes happens where guys can’t find it. I can’t give you an explanation as to why, but I know it wasn’t because of our defense.”

Mars finished the game on a 19-6 run behind Camody and Zach Schlegel, who scored 10 of his 20 points in the final five-and-a-half minutes of regulation. Chris Dvorak also finished in double figures with 12.

Brandon Jakiela led South Fayette with 17 points, and Kade St. Ledger managed 16 points for the cold-shooting Lions.

“There is a reason we are here, and it’s because those guys who have made those shots on a lot of nights,” Mislan said. “I give them green lights. I wouldn’t change that. I would go to war with these guys any day.”