Large Schools
1. St. Joe's (AA) - A 12-point win at Niagara Falls is enough for me to keep the Marauders in the top spot, despite a disappointing showing on the road at Albany Academy, ranked #1 in NYS Class AA. They take to the road this week for a pair of league games at St. Francis and then a Friday night tilt with Timon.
2. Canisius (AA) - Traveled to New Orleans over Christmas break for a Jesuit Tournament and returned home with one victory over Regis and a pair of losses to out-of-state teams. Began the New Year with an exciting one-point victory over visiting Niagara Falls. The Crusaders will host Nichols and Park this week.
3. Niagara Falls (AAA) - Not too many teams would remain #3 in WNY coming off of four straight losses. However, they took a long trip to Rome Free Academy, a team highly ranked in NYS Class AAA above Falls, for one of those losses, another at Cicero-North Syracuse, and the other two to the teams ranked ahead of them locally. They do own a win over Timon and they visit Health Sciences on Thursday night, where a win would keep everything in perspective.
4. Timon (AA) - Knocked off Pioneer after falling the day prior at the buzzer to Fairport in overtime. The Tigers also added a 30-point win over Lackawanna on Thursday. After a visit to Park on Tuesday, Timon will prepare for a Friday night special against #1 ranked St. Joes.
5. Jamestown (AAA) - Long road trips north for afternoon games, one over break at Sweet Home, and the other on a Saturday at Clarence. Jamestown took home a pair of wins from both trips and presumably snagged some pizza for the ride back. Two more road trips north this week, first at Williamsville North and then a Saturday afternoon affair with undefeated Orchard Park.
6. Health Sciences (AA2) - Looked thoroughly impressive in a 63-27 win against Pioneer in the Hoops for Hope Tournament, before falling short of the mark against tournament champion Fairport the following day. Big Health has a big game on Thursday night against an angry Falls squad riding a four-game skid.
7. Lockport (AA1) - Bounced back from a loss at Rush-Henrietta over break to make quick work of North Tonawanda on Friday night. The Lions will look to remain undefeated in league play, beginning with a visit from Kenmore West.
8. Williamsville South (A1) - Improved to 5-1 on the season, collecting wins at Webster Schroder over break and then at Sweet Home on Friday night. The Billies can claim sole possession of first place in ECIC II with a pair of victories this week. They host Hamburg on Monday, a team coming off a victory at Starpoint. Then, on Friday night, they travel down Main Street, a street they currently own, to put possession of the pavement on the line at Amherst.
9. Orchard Park (AA1) - Now sitting at 4-0 after a 31-point win at Frontier on Saturday. The Quakers will get ready for a huge early season league battle with reigning champ Jamestown on Saturday afternoon by making the trip to Lancaster on Tuesday night.
10. Grand Island (A1) - It has been full throttle for the Vikings through their first six wins of the season, boasting the best point differential in WNY, including a 33-point win over CSAT on Friday night.
Small Schools
1. Randolph (C) - Defeated Southwestern over break and then emerged victorious on the road at the Tully Tournament. The Cardinals begin league play this week at Portville on Monday and then host Silver Creek on Thursday.
2. Westfield (C) - Winners of the Westfield Winter Classic over break to improve their record to 8-1 on the season. The Wolverines can make it 10-0 with victories over visiting Maple Grove and Chautauqua Lake in the days ahead.
3. Allegany-Limestone (B2) - The team that reached Glens Falls in 2022 is once again making a lot of noise down south. Victories over Cuba-Rushford, Bradford, and Fredonia have the Gators sitting at 7–0 on the season. They host Falconer on Monday night and then take to the road for a big one at Salamanca on Thursday, so the Gators will get a couple nice tests in the no-nights-off CCAA I West.
4. Salamanca (B2) - Handled Bradford before dropping their first game of the season to Wellsville the following day. The sting of their first loss propelled them to a lopsided win at Cleveland Hill, followed by a convincing victory against Southwestern. The Warriors welcome Niagara Wheatfield to the Southern Tier on Tuesday, ahead of that huge league battle with the undefeated Gators.
5. Akron (B1) - Conversely, the Tigers from Akron have yet to let a team get within 10 points of them in league play up north in the N-O through four contests. They will try to keep that trend going on the road at Roy-Hart, never an easy facility to play at, and then host North Tonawanda for a nonleague game at the end of the week.
6. Panama (D) - It was like old times down in Panama on Friday night with a Barmore swinging from the rim and the team celebrating a victory. This time it was a 91–46 blitzing Gowanda. On Wednesday night they host Clymer.
7. Olmsted (B1) - Defeated Middle College by 10 points to remain undefeated on the season heading into a week with three games on the slate. The Owls begin by traveling to Holland and then to MST on Tuesday night in what should be a most interesting game to monitor. They finish off the week versus Burgard.
8. Fredonia (B1) - Knocked off Park in the first round of the Clarence Tournament, before falling to the hosts on the following day. Then the Hillbillies lost again at Allegany-Limestone on Friday by 17. They'll look to get back in the win column against visiting Olean and Dunkirk this week.
9. Falconer (B2) - Avenged an earlier loss to Dunkirk and then earned a pair of victories over Chautauqua Lake to improve their record to 6-3 on the season. The Golden Falcons head to undefeated Allegany-Limestone on Monday night.
10. MST (B2) - Tough call for the last spot. Why not Middle College who just beat them handily over break? Why not Global Concepts, who have only lost to CG Finney & O'Hara? Why not Forestville, who is undefeated? Instead of answering why not, here's why...call it a hunch. Christmas break games can be deceiving. Resumes boasting quality wins are lacking for any team vying for this spot. I like the roster at MST. I like the coach. I believe their best is yet to come and they will back this up with a strong showing, or even a win, when they host undefeated Olmsted on Tuesday. If I'm wrong, I'll own it and reassess the situation next week.
-🏀centercourt🏀
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