When the playoff atmosphere was as intense as it was at the Ambridge Fieldhouse on Tuesday night, it is in the best wishes of those watching (or listening) that the game would live up to, or exceed, the same level of intensity.

Mars lived up to it, and nearly exceeded it. But Beaver Falls exceeded it, and they earned the reward of doing so with a trip to Friday night’s WPIAL AAA Championship at the Petersen Events Center.

The Tigers hung on late to win 59-58 over the Fighting Planets on Beaver County Radio.

Josh Creach led Beaver Falls (and all scorers) with 25 points, while three players led Mars with 12 points, including John Castello, who shares honors with Creach as CCBC Players of The Game.

Beaver Falls plays Highlands in the AAA Championship on Friday night, with tipoff set for 9:00pm. That game will be heard on 1230 WBVP and 1460 WMBA.

Bob Barrickman and Tom Hays had tonight’s call, and they have this full scoring recap for beavercountyradio.com.