(Avion Harris led O'Hara to the biggest win of any small school this season on Friday night over Amherst / Photo: Shawn Turri)
Large Schools
1. Canisius (A) - Coming off of a week in WNY Hoops with some overtime surprises & upsets, the Crusaders began their season with three straight wins. Those included dominant performances against McKinley & Lew-Port, along with a win over CHSAA Class AA Holy Cross. I now it's early. I know Roddy Gayle leaving the game after one quarter makes things difficult to gauge. But my eyes watched a team that's as good as I've seen so far this year - one that's earned a high regard and has no blemishes on its record yet.
2. Park (A) - I'll be very interested to see where this team lands in the Buffalo News poll when the votes from multiple opinions are tallied. I struggled with moving the Pioneers from the top spot because the scorebook I reviewed from the overtime loss at McQuaid was very unusual. The Park team I've watched the past couple seasons and in a few games this year isn't hyper-physical on defense. The foul discrepancy in the game had Park attempting 22 free throws to McQuaid's 50 attempts. However, if I begin qualifying a loss for every team that loses a close game, it opens a new can of worms. Teams deal with several variables in losses, including injuries, ineligibility, and fatigue. There's plenty of season to determine who deserves the top spot and even though Canisius & Park do not play this year, they'll have common opponents like Aquinas, who visits Park on Monday night.
3. Health Sciences (A2) - If you listened to the Centercourt Podcast this week, you know how big I am on this year's version of the Falcons - to me the best Health team from top-to-bottom they've had. I thought about them for #1 and then had this thought: The Falcons have never defeated Canisius or Park and will get a chance to do both this season, so I'll let them earn it.
4. St. Joe's (A) - The Marauders have a win over McQuaid on their resume and added a double-overtime victory at Aquinas to that last week. They also have losses to Health Sciences and Holy Trinity. To me, this is clearly one of the top teams in the area and I think #4 is appropriate at this point.
5. East (A2) - The Panthers are 4-0 with wins over South Park, Iroquois, Hutch-Tech, & Frontier all by double figures and by an average margin of 20 points. They'll look to keep the good times rolling with games at O'Hara and against McKinley this week.
6. Lew-Port (A2) - Roddy Gayle's rolled ankle took the luster off the big matchup at Canisius on Saturday, playing just under one quarter of the game. The night before with him in the lineup, they knocked off a tough Regis team in the Keenan Classic. Games with CSAT and Kenmore East this week are the only ones on the schedule for the Lancers until after the New Year.
7. Amherst (A2) - After knocking off Williamsville South with a strong second half on Wednesday, the Tigers came out on the wrong side of an overtime battle against Cardinal O'Hara on Friday night. They're scheduled to play their home opener against Hamburg on Tuesday.
8. Niagara Falls (AA) - Since losing to Amherst on opening night, Falls has been full throttle with three straight 30-point wins over O'Hara, Ken West, & Lockport. They should find a worthy opponent at the Lumberyard on Tuesday when they visit North Tonawanda.
9. Williamsville East (A1) - The Flames' trip to Olean on Tuesday was a historic one as they ended the 80-game home winning streak of the Huskies that had spanned just over eight years. The nine-point win there was the smallest margin of victory the team has enjoyed in their 5-1 start, with the other four all by double-digits. They host Niagara Wheatfield on Monday and visit Iroquois on Friday night.
10. Jamestown (AA) - Picked up a tough win on the road at Lancaster on Thursday night to improve to 3-1. Southwestern visits Jamestown on Friday night for a first round matchup in the United Way Tournament.
Small Schools
1. Cardinal O'Hara (B) - Had the Hawks here in the preseason and then dropped them down after a lopsided loss at Niagara Falls. However, last week they took a very good Amherst team down which tells me they are much closer to the team I thought they were coming into the season.
2. Olean (B1) - No shame in losing to a Williamsville East team that I think could win Class A1, but I did slide them down one spot after O'Hara knocked off the same Amherst team that beat Will East. The Huskies are now 3-1 after winning at Depew on Saturday, led by a 34-point showing from Covi James. They are at Wellsville on Tuesday night.
3. Tapestry (C1) - The Thunderhawks have played all Southern Tier schools in their 2-1 start, with the lone loss coming to Jamestown and the wins coming convincingly over Dunkirk & Southwestern. On Wednesday night they host another team from the CCAA, the unbeaten Eagles from Ellicottville.
4. Middle College (C1) - After some tough losses against top competition, the Kats picked up a big overtime over South Park last week. Two more league games are scheduled this week, both away games at City Honors and Hutch-Tech.
5. Iroquois (B1) - A fast start by the Chiefs on Friday night that included six 3-pointers by sophomore Trey Kleitz in the first nine minutes, was enough to propel the team to a close win over division rival East Aurora. The next big ECIC III test comes Wednesday at Maryvale, before finishing out the week with a visit from top 10 large school Williamsville East.
6. East Aurora (B1) - Tucking the Blue Devils in right behind Iroquois after they were the tougher team in the second half of a three-point loss at Iroquois and had a chance to take it late. EA is a smart and balanced team that comes hard, with a big man in Ian Moog that they look to for consistent inside production.
7. Allegany-Limestone (B2) - In a 12-point victory, the Gators improved to 3-0 and handed Salamanca its first loss of the season. They'll play in the Joe DeCerbo Memorial Tournament at St. Bonaventure against Bradford on Saturday, with a game against Olean or Coudersport the following day.
8. Fredonia (B2) - The Hillbillies are at St. Mary's on Tuesday and in the United Way Tournament at Jamestown over the weekend, beginning with a game against BASCS and hoping for a shot at the tournament hosts.
9. Timon (B) - After traveling to Rochester to face Class AA UPrep on Monday and only losing by 18, the Tigers took down an Australian team in South Buffalo on Friday. Good win mate.
10. Randolph (C2) - In their first action of the season, the Cardinals traveled a distance to play in the Tully Tournament, knocking off the host school and then Moravia to win the championship behind tourney MVP Tyler Hind. They'll take another long roadie this weekend to face East Rochester in the Bishop Kearney Showcase.
-centercourt
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