Christian Locher wasn't expected to be one of WPIAL Class AAA's leading scorers, just like the Mars Area boys' basketball team wasn't supposed to be a playoff team this season.

But Locher was determined to shake the stigma of being solely a good 3-point shooter ... and the Planets refused to allow the fact they had only two starters returning and played in a tough section keep them from being successful.

Mars is 10-6 and has clinched a WPIAL playoff berth with a 7-3 record in Section 1-AAA after Tuesday's 61-51 victory against Highlands. And a big reason why is Locher, who was among the top 30 scorers in the WPIAL and City League through last week, averaging almost 20 points per game. He had 29 Tuesday.

"Christian has really done a great job making himself a much more well-rounded player from where he was last year," Planets coach Rob Carmody said.

"And that's kind of been the theme of the whole team. Everybody, from where they were last year and where we were during the summer and where they were when the season began, they've all gotten better."

Mars has a chance to improve on last season's section record (7-5) despite the graduation of three key starters, including a four-year starter who was a 1,000-point scorer in Vinny Smith and a three-year starter in Chris Herold. Mars' 15-player roster contains six freshmen this season.

The Planets have lost only four games to WPIAL Class AAA competition this season and three of them were to last season's WPIAL finalists, Hampton (twice) and Highlands.

"No one expected this out of us this season," Locher said. "We lost three of our main starters this year, but everyone stepped up in a big way. We're all working and coming together as a team."

Locher, a 6-foot-3 junior, averaged 16 points per game last season but was not the Planets' primary scoring option and primarily was a role player as a sophomore who benefited from the opposition's attention being placed on Smith and Herold.

"He's a known commodity now, teams this year are going into games saying, 'Don't let Christian Locher spot up and get 3-point shots,'" Carmody said.

"He could have sulked about that, but instead he worked very hard over the summer on complementing his ability by being able to get to the basket, and he's done an outstanding job of it. If you crowd him now, he will go around you.

"He's also picked up the defensive slack as well, and when the opportunity presents itself, he still will knock down the 3-point shot."

Plenty of complementary scoring has come from senior Ian Hindley. A 5-foot-11 guard, Hindley was averaging 15 points per game through last week.

"He's having a big year for us," Locher said. "He's a great all-around player. He's stepped up big, and we needed that."

Junior Brad Weischedel has taken over as the team's starting point guard, and senior Mike Lindenbaum has moved seamlessly into a starting guard's role.

The Planets' only other returning starter in what has been an almost exclusively all-guard rotation is senior Luke Gruber. At 6-0, Gruber is consistently assigned to guard the opponents' top offensive player, regardless of position, and Carmody has been pleased with the results.

Senior guard Tim Vandall has served as Mars' sixth man.

"These kids have focused on practice and they've trusted in each other," said Carmody, who is in his 12th season as coach. "That's why, for me, it's just been my most rewarding year to coach them.

"I don't know how many people outside of this staff and these kids thought that this team could get to the playoffs. I think everybody looked at us and said, 'Oh, they'll be scrappy, but they're not big enough or experienced enough or have enough talent to be in the playoffs.'"

But that's precisely where Mars will be later this month.

"We're very excited about the way the season has played out so far," Carmody said. "It's kind of like we sat down to dinner and accomplished a nice amount: We're assured of a playoff spot at this point. But are we ready to get up and put the chairs in and be done eating, or do we sit down and get ready for the second course? Were these 14 games an appetizer with the main course yet to come, or was that the dinner, and that's that?

"That's our theme. We're happy with what we've done, but that doesn't mean we should be satisfied yet."

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