News

The Franklin Regional boys basketball team was mere minutes away from a statement win against the top-ranked team in Class 5A on the road, Mars.

The Planets had other plans, rallying from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit thanks to a 16-0 run to end the game for a 58-53 victory.

The win keeps Mars in first place in Section 3-5A, who now has a two-game lead on the Panthers. Both of Franklin Regional’s section losses this season are to Mars.

Franklin Regional started the fourth quarter with a 41-32 lead, but were outscored 26-12 in the final quarter.

A huge lift in Mars’ run was the play of senior Andrew Recchia, who scored seven straight points to cut the deficit to single digits.

Recchia finished with 22 points. Junior Michael Carmody added 18 points.

Franklin Regional was led by senior Nick Leopold with a game-high 26 points.

With the win, Mars improves to 16-1 overall and 10-0 in the section. The Planets will go for their 12th straight win tomorrow against Ambridge at Montour in the PBC Hall of Fame Classic at 4:30 p.m.

Franklin Regional drops to 13-5 overall and 8-2 in the section. The Panthers will host Plum in a section game on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.