(McKinley is 6-1 after picking up two big wins last week)
Large Schools
1. Canisius (A) - These guys won their last two games by 42 and 32 points...over Lew-Port & Bishop Kearney. The Kearney game was on the road! They also have a 21-point win over McKinley and a 4-0 record. They'll host McQuaid in a pre-holiday matinee on Monday, before taking to the friendly skies en route to Georgia for the three-game St. Pius Christmas Classic.
2. Park (A) - The Pioneers got back on track against Aquinas, surging past them behind a 19-point second half by Jalen Bradberry to win by 19 points. At the Super 16 Showcase in NYC over the weekend, the team went 1-1, losing to Evangel Christian and then defeating Spring Valley. Next up is three games in the Blue Star Holiday Invitational.
3. Health Sciences (A2) - The Falcons picked up a 67-point victory over Lackawanna in their only action last week. They'll do battle with Jamestown for the first time on Friday in the St. Francis Christmas Tournament and have a game with either the hosts or West Seneca East the following day.
4. St. Joe's (A) - The Marauders dropped a game in North Carolina over the weekend and will make the trip to Syracuse to play Jamesville-DeWitt on Saturday.
5. McKinley (A1) - A big, big week for the Macks, earning a pair of attention-grabbing victories on consecutive days! First they go into East and dominate the fourth quarter to comeback from 12 points down and then follow it up with a win over Cardinal O'Hara. McKinley is now 6-1 and also has wins over St. Francis and Williamsville South, with the lone loss coming at Canisius.
6. Amherst (A2) - Finished strong against Hamburg to improve to 3-0 in ECIC II, before heading to North Carolina and splitting the two games they played on the extended road trip.
7. Niagara Falls (AA) - A busy week for Falls included wins over North Tonawanda, Niagara Wheatfield, and Bishop Kearney to make it six straight victories, before losing on Sunday to UPrep.
8. Lew-Port (A2) - Fell at home to CSAT by four points without Roddy Gayle in the lineup. But upon his return three nights later, he dropped 33 points as they cruised past Kenmore East.
9. Williamsville East (A1) - The Flames are now 7-1 after earning wins over Niagara Wheatfield and Iroquois last week. They get a chance to prove they're the best of the Williamsville teams in the Five Guys Tournament at North this week, or risk losing their poll spot and bragging rights to the undefeated Spartans!
10. Jamestown (AA) - Earned the United Way Tournament championship on Saturday with a resounding win over Fredonia. The next tournament the Red Raiders play in could be a different story, as the team heads to Frannies on Friday to take on Health Sciences in the first round of the St. Francis Christmas Tournament.
Small Schools
1. Cardinal O'Hara (B) - Picked up a second signature win in as many weeks by coming back on East from nine points down in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter in a game they trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half. The Hawks are in the Bishop Ludden Tournament following Christmas.
2. Middle College (C1) - Well it looks like the Kats are finding their stride as the first month of the season nears an end. A pair of Yale Cup I victories last week included holding City Honors to just 15 points, before bludgeoning Hutch-Tech by 59 points. Both games were road wins.
3. Olean (B1) - Bounced back from a road loss at Section V Wellsville earlier in the week to clip Coudersport in round one of the Joe DeCerbo Memorial Tournament, before falling to Bradford in double overtime the following evening.
4. Tapestry (C1) - Not a lot to go on yet with the Thunderhawks just three games into the season, with their last game played on December 7th. Double figure wins over Dunkirk & Southwestern, and a four-point loss to Jamestown, with another week off coming up. Tapestry will have a busy couple months coming up and they're hoping March keeps them busy as well.
5. Iroquois (B1) - The Chiefs moved to 4-0 in ECIC III with convincing wins over Pioneer & Maryvale, before getting clipped in a nonleague battle with Top 10 large school Williamsville East on Friday.
6. Timon (B) - After falling to Orchard Park by the same margin Middle College did a couple weeks ago, the Tigers scored consecutive 24-point wins against Olmsted and Starpoint. Over the break, Lackawanna visits on Monday the 23rd and they'll head to Bennett two days after Christmas.
7. Allegany-Limestone (B2) - Suffered their first loss of the season against Bradford in the Joe DeCerbo Memorial Tournament, but came back the following day to defeat Coudersport. They'll travel east to play in a tournament at Onondaga Community College after Christmas.
8. Fredonia (B2) - Wins over CSAT early in the season and St. Mary's last week tell me the Hillbillies are a Top 10 small school, despite getting rolled by 29 points at the hands of Jamestown in the United Way Tournament. Fredonia will face some nice competition in the Clarence Tournament that includes a game with Lockport and then the hosts or South Park.
9. Randolph (C2) - The Cardinals will look to bounce back against Southwestern on Friday after tasting defeat at Rochester East who is 8-0.
10. St. Mary's (B) - Tough call for me here on this last slot. Considered undefeated Holland, but wins over Lackawanna, Olmsted, & North Collins don't speak loudly enough. I considered undefeated Panama, who has three & four point wins over Chautauqua Lake -- but both Silver Creek & Westfield (twice) have beaten those Thunderbirds more handily. I looked Salamanca's way after they knocked off Ellicottville, but comparing them to St. Mary's still had me leaning towards the Lancers. St. Mary's just won the Depew Tournament, which included a big win over East Aurora. I'm placing a higher premium on that over anything the other teams have to this point. Also, St. Mary's lost to Fredonia by five, while Salamanca lost to Allegany-Limestone by 12. Yes, I took that much time looking into this last spot and that's what I came up with. Now St. Mary's gets to play at Williamsville North next in the Five Guys Tournament against a Class AA Spartans team that hasn't lost yet.
-centercourt
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