The View From Centercourt

Sectional Preview - 2014

 

The Section VI postseason begins tonight with first round games, and the winners move on to participate in the pre-quarterfinal games played on Wednesday.  Friday night is when the action really kicks up, as 32 quarterfinal games will decide which teams move on to Buffalo State and JCC for the semifinals. 

 

Below I take a look at some of the best matchups we could potentially see in the pre-quarterfinals, quarterfinals, semifinals, and even the championship games.  There's also my thoughts on the biggest favorite and the most competitive brackets, along with some winning streaks and predictions.

 

** Please note that many of the games below are based on my predictions of who will win in prior rounds 

 

Top 10 Pre-Quarterfinal Games (Wednesday, 2/19)

10. City Honors @ Depew

9. Burgard @ Falconer/Frewsburg

8. Wilson vs. Emerson ** at Hutch-Tech

7. WNY Maritime @ Portville

6. Springville @ South Park

5. Starpoint @ Hamburg

4. West Seneca West @ Frontier

3. Grand Island @ Hutch-Tech

2. Riverside @ Lake Shore

1. Alden vs. Lafayette ** at City Honors

 

Top 13 Quarterfinal Games (Friday, 2/21) 

13. MST Seneca @ Olmsted

12. Allegany-Limestone @ Holland 

11. Portville @ Barker

10. Lackawanna @ Cleveland Hill

9. Lafayette @ Tonawanda

8. Hutch-Tech @ Williamsville South

7. Lancaster @ Clarence

6. Tapestry @ Silver Creek

5. Sweet Home @ North Tonawanda

4. Hamburg @ Iroquois

3. East Aurora @ Lew-Port

2. Williamsville East @ McKinley

1. Lockport @ Kenmore West

 

Most Exciting Potential Semifinals

5. Salamanca vs. Cleveland Hill

4. Lockport/Kenmore West vs. Jamestown

3. North Tonawanda vs. Williamsville South

2. McKinley vs. Iroquois

1. Clarence vs. Williamsville North

 

Most Exciting Potential Championship Games

5. Class C2 Final

4. Class A2 Final

3. Class A1 Final

2. Class AA Final

1. Olean vs. East in the crossover

 

Win Streaks heading into sectionals

Barker 18 games

I-Prep 12 games

Kenmore West 7 games

Sherman 6 games

 

Predictions

Class AA - Jamestown

Class A1 - McKinley

Class A2 - Amherst

Class B1 - Olean 

Class B2 - East

Class C1 - Middle College

Class C2 - Randolph

Class D - Sherman

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

Final League Standings for 2014

 

 

Yale Cup I

Middle College.........11-1

East.........................10-2

McKinley..................9-3

Hutch-Tech..............5-7

Bennett....................5-7

South Park...............4-8

Riverside..................3-9

Burgard....................1-11

 

Yale Cup II

I-Prep.....................12-0  

Olmsted..................9-3

Lafayette................8-4

Buffalo Arts............7-5

MST Seneca...........4-8

City Honors...........4-8

Emerson................3-9   

 

ECIC I

Jamestown...........10-2

Clarence...............10-2

Will North............10-2

Lancaster...............6-6

Frontier..................3-9

W.Seneca West......2-10

Orchard Park.........1-11

 

ECIC II

Will South.............9-3

Iroquois................9-3

Sweet Home..........8-4

Will East...............7-5

Hamburg..............6-6

Starpoint..............3-9

W.Seneca East.....0-12

 

ECIC III

Amherst............12-2

Cheektowaga.....11-3   

Maryvale............9-5

East Aurora........8-6

Depew................7-7

Lake Shore.........4-10

Springville..........3-11

Pioneer...............2-12   

 

ECIC IV

Cleveland Hill...........11-1

Holland......................9-3

Tonawanda................8-4

Lackawanna...............6-6

Alden.........................4-8

JFK............................2-10

Eden..........................2-10

 

Niagara Frontier League

Lockport........................13-1

Kenmore West...............13-1

North Tonawanda...........9-5

Lew-Port.........................8-6

Niagara Falls...................6-8

Grand Island.................4-10

Kenmore East................3-11

Niagara Wheatfield.......0-14

 

Niagara-Orleans

Barker................14-0

Medina................9-5

Roy-Hart.............8-6

CSAT...................7-7

Albion.................6-8

Newfane..............6-8

Wilson.................4-10

Akron..................2-12

 

CCAA West I

Fredonia......................10-0

Silver Creek..................6-4

Maple Grove.................5-5

Falconer/Frewsburg.....4-6

Dunkirk........................3-7

Southwestern................2-8

 

CCAA East I

Salamanca........................9-1

Randolph..........................8-2

Allegany-Limestone..........6-4

Portville............................4-6

Gowanda...........................3-7

Catt Little/Valley..............0-10

 

CCAA West II

Sherman......................12-0

Panama.........................8-4

Cassadaga Valley...........7-5

Westfield.......................6-6

Clymer..........................5-7

Chautauqua Lake...........4-8

Brocton.........................0-12

 

CCAA East II

Forestville.................9-1

Ellicottville................7-3

Franklinville..............7-3

Pine Valley................5-5

West Valley...............1-9

North Collins.............1-9

 

Charter Schools

Health Sciences...................7-1

Tapestry..............................7-1  

WNY Maritime....................2-6

Global Concepts...................2-6

Oracle..................................1-7

 

Independent

Olean.............................15-3

 

 

Monsignor Martin - Large Schools

Canisius......................12-0   

Timon...........................9-3    

St. Joe's........................6-6   

St. Francis.....................3-9

 

Monsignor Martin - Small Schools

St. Mary's....................12-2    

Nichols.........................9-5   

Park.............................9-5    

Niagara Catholic...........2-12    

Archbishop Walsh........2-12

Cardinal O'Hara............2-12   

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

 

 

Poll Ballots - Week 8 - 2014

 

As a pollster for the Buffalo News, I'm asked to send in my weekly ballots ranking the top ten large and small schools.  The polls are based on games played through Sunday of each week.  Here's a look at how I see them and some of the rationale used to get there.

 

Large Schools

1. Canisius (MMA) - Four more wins for the Crusaders this week.  As expected, they proved to be too much for Aquinas in a 14-point win, and found a way to win a close one over elite PA power, Cathedral Prep.  They get a chance to show off their league dominance this week with games against Timon, St. Mary's, & St. Joe's all on tap.

2. Williamsville North (AA) - Pounded Frontier behind what was a WNY season-high 45 point outburst from Sterling Taplin (sophomore Brandon Roach of Olmsted dropped 50 the following night).  Tonight is the moment these guys have been waiting for - a chance to go into Jamestown and take ECIC I away from them.

3. Clarence (AA) - Downed West Seneca West by 25 last week.  The Red Devils finish out their schedule with Orchard Park and Lancaster this week.

4. Jamestown (AA) - They host the Spartans tonight, where they can either win and force a three-way tie for first place in ECIC I, and bow to North and send them home with a league  championship.  Road trip!

5. St. Joe's (MMA) - I had already dropped them down from the number two spot prior tp this past week, when they suffered a bad loss at Nichols and an even worse loss at Aquinas.  But even with their recent play, they stay ahead of the next three on this ballot because they beat them all this season.  They will look to win a ninth straight regular season game over Timon on Thursday, before visiting Kenmore West on Friday.  Then it's rivalry time at the Koessler Center on Sunday.

6. Timon (MMA) - Less than spectacular showings against Olean (18-point loss) & Bishop Kearney (23-point loss) at home this week.  Tomorrow they host Canisius, not exactly a get well game, before visiting St. Joe's on Thursday.

7. Lockport (AA) - It looks as if the Lions will be earn a share of the NFL crown with only Kenmore East left on their league schedule.  Friday, Lockport travels to Batavia for a little sectional preparation.

8. McKinley (A1) - A tough home loss to Middle College makes it all but certain that the Macks will not be hoisting the Yale Cup for a third straight season.  

9. Kenmore West (AA) - The Blue Devils are hoping their cross-town rivals, Kenmore East, can pull off a miracle victory over Lockport this week so they can have the NFL crown all to themselves.

10. Iroquois (A1) - I got another look at the Chiefs this week and saw a completely different squad than the one that was trounced by Clarence.  The leaders of ECIC II got out of Hamburg with a win on Saturday and can claim sole possession of the league title with a win over Williamsville South on Thursday.

 

Small Schools

1. Olean (B1) -  The Huskies were wildly impressive and entertaining in a dominant performance at Timon, and followed it up with a season sweep of Bishop Kearney on Friday.  Nick Schmidt eclipsed 1,000 point for his career this week, becoming the third Olean starter to do so.  Just imagine how many assists Luke Hennessey has compiled in his four-year career.

2. Middle College (C1) - Rumor has it that the Yale Cup is enroute to ECC for delivery to the Kats in anticipation of them taking care of business this week, after taking care of McKinley on Saturday.

3. East (B2) - The Panthers looked back on track as they evened the score with Middle College last week.   Despite looking like the better than the Kats, I'm keeping them behind Middle College until they do what the Kats did this weekend, win at McKinley.

4. St. Mary's (MMA) - Won a fourth straight against Nichols and remain unbeaten against MMA small schools.  This week, the Lancers are at Park , Fredonia, & St. Francis, and also host Canisius.

5. Park (MMA) - The Pioneers will get a chance to move up this week with games against St. Mary's, Niagara Catholic, and Nichols ahead.

6. Nichols (MMA) - The Vikings put one on St. Joe's at the beginning of the week, but couldn't get past what is becoming a growing nemesis in St. Mary's.  They'll finish off the regular season with a visit from Park on Saturday.

7. Fredonia (B1) - Undefeated league champs of CCAA West I will brush up on their postseason skills with a nice nonleaguer against St. Mary's on Wednesday.  

8. Barker (C1) - It's official, the Raiders are N-O champs for the first time since before the wheel was invented.

9. Cleveland Hill (B2) - Holland visits Tuesday night to decide the league championship in ECIC IV.  The Golden Eagles finish their regular season Friday night at home against North Tonawanda.

10. Sherman (D) - The Wildcats will look to stay undefeated in league action this week, heading into postseason run.

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

Top games of the week ending 2/16/14

 

Here's a list of what I think are the top games to follow this week:

 

Monday, February 10th

Lafayette @ I-Prep - 6 pm

Williamsville North @ Jamestown - 7:30 pm

 

Tuesday, February 11th

MST Seneca @ Olmsted - 6 pm

St. Mary's @ Park - 6:30 pm

Maryvale @ Cheektowaga - 6:30 pm

Holland @ Cleveland Hill - 6:30 pm

Canisius @ Timon - 7 pm

Williamsville East @ Hamburg - 7:30 pm

Sweet Home @ Williamsville South - 7:30 pm

 

Wednesday, February 12th

St. Mary's @ Fredonia - 7:30 pm

 

Thursday, February 13th

Olmsted @ I-Prep - 6 pm

East @ McKinley - 6 pm

Williamsville South @ Iroquois - 6:30 pm

Hamburg @ Sweet Home - 6:30 pm

Timon @ St. Joe's - 7 pm

Cheektowaga @ East Aurora - 7:30 pm

Randolph @ Salamanca - 7:30 pm

 

 Friday, February 14th

North Tonawanda @ Cleveland Hill - 6:30 pm

St. Joe's @ Kenmore West - 6:30 pm

Canisius @ St. Mary's - 7:30 pm

 Lockport @ Batavia - 7:45 pm

 

Saturday, February 15th

Park @ Nichols - 3 pm

 

Sunday, February 16th

Canisius vs. St. Joe's - 4 pm @ Canisius College Koessler Center

 

Game of the Week - Randolph @ Salamanca on Thursday, February 13th

- On the second to last day of the Section VI regular season, things have set up nicely for these two schools to have a winner-take-all duel for the CCAA I East league title.

Randolph took round one from the Warriors in a dramatic 76-75 home victory in which it was bombs away for the Cardinals from beyond the arc.  It was the first league loss for Salamanca, while Randolph remained unbeaten in CCAA East I.  But the very next game, the Cardinals faltered in a game at Allegany-Limestone, meaning both schools once again have the same record heading into the rematch.

Salamanca still needs to defeat Portville prior to the big game in order to keep pace with the Cardinals.  In their first meeting, the Warriors downed the Panthers by nine.  It's part of a busy week for Salamanca, who also has a game against Cuba-Rushford.  However, I'm banking on the Warriors entering this Thursday with the same league record as Randolph, and ready to exact revenge by dashing the league hopes of the Cardinals, which were so high just two weeks earlier.

 

-centercourt

@centercourt

Bowen leads Iroquois past the Flames

 

Sometimes all you need is a late surge at the end of a quarter or half to give your team enough momentum to coast to victory.  That's exactly what the Chiefs got on Tuesday night - that and a whole lot of points from their senior point guard, who offset a monster night from the opponents hot hand.

 

Phil Bowen dropped 33 points to lead Iroquois past Willaisville East, 81-64, in a crucial ECIC II tilt.  With the win, the Chiefs remain in sole possession of first place in the league, while the Flames drop to third place behind four other teams, after squandering a chance to force a five-way tie in the division.

 

After an exciting start to the game that saw both teams battling back-and-forth, the Chiefs broke away late in the first half.  Over the opening 13 minutes, the lead changed six different times and was also tied six times.  Then 2:37 before intermission, Iroquois senior Josh Piesczynski drilled a '3' that sparked the game's decisive run.  The Chiefs closed out the half with an 11-2 advantage that included a traditional three-point play from Phil Bowen and a trey off the bench from sophomore brother Joe Bowen, giving them a 39-30 lead as the teams headed towards the locker rooms.

 

During most of the third quarter, Williamsville East saw its deficit increase and trailed by as many as 13 points, while being unable to make up any distance on the Chiefs.  They trailed 56-43 in the late stages of the stanza, before Nicholas Clough ended the frame with a long range bomb and then converted an "& 1" in the closing seconds to get his team back within nine points at 58-49.

 

Nine points would be as close as Williamsville East would be for the remainder, as the late first half run from Iroquois turned out to be their undoing.  Phil Bowen repeatedly got to the free throw line over the final 10 minutes and kept his team on the attack as they thwarted any attempts the Flames made to get back into the contest.

 

Bowen and Clough competed in one of the top scorer's duels I've witnessed this season.  Each ended up with 33 points on the evening.  Clough connected from beyond the arc on four occasions and did a little of everything for the Flames, while Bowen got to the hoop consistently and either finished or got to the line and took care of things from there.

 

Iroquois junior Lucas Tait played his tail off inside and finished with 14 points for the Chiefs, while Piesczynski added 11 points on the evening.

 

Cort Williams scored 19 points for Williamsville East, with 11 of those coming during the tightly contested portion of the first half.

 

Iroquois is at Hamburg & Starpoint, before finishing up the season at home against Williamsville South.  Two more wins for the Chiefs guarantee at least a tie for the title in ECIC II, while winning out makes them the champs, outright.  The Chiefs are in Class A1 this season, and look to reach the final there, and hopefully move beyond.  They may just find the Flames, also a Class A1 school, waiting for them along the way, looking for a rubber match to settle the regular season series split.

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

Top games of the week ending 2/9/14

 

Here's a list of what I think are the top games to follow this week:

 

Monday, February 3rd

Niagara Catholic @ Cardinal O'Hara - 6:30 pm

St. Joe's @ Nichols - 6:30 pm

Olean @ Timon - 7 pm

Jamestown @ Lancaster - 7:30 pm

Cheektowaga @ Depew - 7:30 pm

Lake Shore @ East Aurora - 7:30 pm

 

Tuesday, February 4th

Williamsville East @ Iroquois - 6:30 pm

Medina @ Barker - 6:30 pm

Kenmore West @ Niagara Falls - 6:30 pm

St. Mary's @ Cardinal O'Hara - 6:30 pm

Aquinas @ Canisius - 7 pm

Cleveland Hill @ Lackawanna - 7 pm

Randolph @ Allegany-Limestone - 7:30 pm

 

Wednesday, February 5th

Middle College @ McKinley - 6 pm

Amherst @ Cheektowaga - 6:30 pm

Timon @ St. Joe's - 7 pm

 

Thursday, February 6th

Cardinal O'Hara @ Holland - 6:30 pm

Cleveland Hill @ Tonawanda - 6:30 pm

Depew @ Maryvale - 7:30 pm

St. Mary's @ Niagara Catholic - 7:30 pm

Hamburg @ Williamsville South - 7:30 pm

 

Friday, February 7th 

Middle College @ East - 6 pm

Niagara Falls @ Lockport - 6:30 pm

Alden @ Lackawanna - 7 pm

Fredonia @ Silver Creek - 7:30 pm

Portville @ Randolph - 7:30 pm

Allegany-Limestone @ Salamanca - 7:30 pm

Bishop Kearney @ Olean - 7:30 pm

 

Saturday, February 8th

UPrep @ CSAT - 1:30 pm

Iroquois @ Hamburg - 1:30 pm

Depew @ East Aurora - 2:30 pm

Cathedral Prep @ Canisius - 3 pm

Nichols @ St. Mary's - 3:30 pm

Silver Creek @ Randolph - 6:30 pm

Middle College @ McKinley - 6:30 pm

 

 Sunday, February 9th 

Bishop Kearney @ Timon - 3 pm

Williamsville South @ St. Joe's - 4:30 pm

 

Game of the Week - Williamsville East @ Iroquois on Tuesday, February 4th

- One of, if not the most competitive league in all of WNY this season, ECIC II has produced a compelling league race all season.  Not only did no team make it to the half-way point without a loss, but the first place team in ECIC II has two losses.

Iroquois is the team currently sitting atop the ECIC II standings, while Williamsville East is a spot behind in second place, locked in a tie with Sweet Home, Williamsville South, & Hamburg.  All the teams in second place in ECIC II have three league losses.

In the first meeting between the two, the Flames scored a nine-point home win over the Chiefs to account for one of the Iroquois losses.  The Chiefs later dropped a tight one at Williamsville South, but Iroquois has yet to lose on its home court this season.

A win for Williamsville East would force a five-way tie in the race for the ECIC II crown and make it more complicated than a three-legged burlap sack picnic race.  A win for the Chiefs over Williamsville East would all but ensure at least a share of the ECIC II title, while winning out would give Iroquois the title outright.

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

Top games of the week ending 1/26/14

 

Here's a list if what I think are the top games to follow this week:

 

Monday, January 20th

East vs. Frankiln (Sec V) @ Monroe CC - 2:45 pm

St. Mary's @ Nichols - 3 pm

 

Tuesday, January 21st

Amherst @ Lake Shore - 6:30 pm

Tonawanda @ Cleveland Hill - 6:30 pm

North Tonawanda @ Kenmore West - 6:30 pm

Park @ Timon - 7 pm

St. Francis @ Lancaster - 7 pm

Olean @ St. Mary's - 7:30 pm

Clarence @ Jamestown - 7:30 pm

Williamsville South @ Williamsville East - 7:30 pm

 

Wednesday, January 22nd

Silver Creek @ Salamanca - 7:30 pm

Maryvale @ Depew - 7:30 pm

 

Thursday, January 23rd

St. Mary's @ Cleveland Hill - 6:30 pm

Hamburg @ Iroquois - 6:30 pm

Holland @ Alden - 7 pm

 

Friday, January 24th

Kenmore West @ Lockport - 6:30 pm

St. Mary's @ Iroquois - 6:30 pm

Hutch-Tech vs. Middle College @ ECC - 7 pm

Jamestown @ Clarence - 7:30 pm

Silver Creek @ Maple Grove - 7:30 pm

Amherst @ Maryvale - 7:30 pm

Williamsville South @ Olean - 7:30 pm

 

Saturday, January 25th

Nichols @ Canisius - 3:30 pm

 

Game of the Week - Kenmore West @ Lockport on Friday, January 24th

- The Niagara Falls Wolverines have dominated the Niagara Frontier League since becoming a team in 2001.  With the exception of 2005 & 2006 when Niagara Falls played an independent schedule, the Wolverines won the league (shared title with North Tonawanda in 2010 & Kenmore West in 2012) in every season they've competed for it.  However this season, that streak will come to an end, and for the first time since the Niagara Falls/LaSalle merger, someone will earn the distinction of being the first to beat out the Wolverines in the NFL.  Friday night's game will likely decide who makes history.

Kenmore West and Lockport currently sit in first and second place in the NFL, respectively.  At the midway point of league action, the Blue Devils are undefeated in league, having beaten every team once already.  For the Lions, their only defeat in the league this season was a three-point loss at Kenmore West on December 17th.  

While the winner of this game isn't guaranteed anything, the result of the contest is likely pivotal in deciding the champion.  The Blue Devils first face North Tonawanda on Tuesday, but even if they lost to the Jacks, a win over Lockport on Friday would keep them in first place.  For Lockport, winning out would ensure at least a share of the title, and the biggest step towards that process would be winning before what is sure to be a huge home crowd on Friday.  

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

 

Top games of the week ending 1/19/14

 

Here's a list of what I think are the top games to follow this week:

 

Monday, January 13th

Salamanca @ Allegany-Limestone - 7:30 pm

Clarence @ Lamcaster - 7:30 pm

Sherman @ Clymer - 7:30 pm

 

Tuesday, January 14th

Holland @ Lackawanna - 7 pm

Canisius @ Bishop Kearney - 7 pm

Iroquois @ Williamsville South - 7:30 pm

Sweet Home @ Hamburg - 7:30 pm

Williamsville East @ Frontier - 7:30 pm

 

Wednesday, January 15th

McKinley @ East - 6 pm

 

Thursday, January 16th 

Lackawanna @ Alden - 7 pm

Williamsville South @ Hamburg - 7:30 pm

 

Friday, January 17th

Nichols @ Park - 6:30 pm

Niagara Falls @ North Tonawanda - 7 pm

Iroquois @ Sweet Home - 7:30 pm

Williamsville North @ Clarence - 7:30 pm

MLK Classic at City Honors High School

Tapestry @ City Honors - 4:30 pm

IPrep vs. Maritime Charter - 6 pm

Middle College vs. Cheektowaga - 7:30 pm

 

Saturday, January 18th 

MLK Classic @ City Honors High School

St. Francis vs. Hutch-Tech - 11 am

East vs. Sweet Home - 12:30 pm

Canisius vs. McKinley - 2 pm

 

Game of the Week - McKinley @ East on Wednesday, January 15th

-  The Yale Cup is the name of Buffalo's city league, and also the name of the trophy every team competing in that league covets.  East and McKinley have combined to win five of the last seven Yale Cups, including the last three.  East won it in 2007, 2009, & 2011.  McKinley hoisted it back-to-back the last two seasons, 2012 & 2013.  The Cup was won by Grover in 2008, before McKinley knocked them out of the playoffs...only to have its season ended by East, who advanced to Glens Falls in Class A that year.  Needless to say, these two programs are the gold standard of city basketball.

Both teams will enter the game undefeated in league play.  In fact, McKinley has been unbeaten in the Yale Cup in each of the last two seasons and enters the game with a 29-game winning streak in the Yale Cup.  That would be a remarkable feat for any team in any league to win that many in a row, but especially in a talent-laden league like the Yale Cup.  The Macks winning streak is closing in on history - Riverside holds the benchmark at 34 games dating back to the Mike Williams era in 2005 & 2006.  If you include postseason & nonleague games against Yale Cup schools, McKinley has won 33 consecutively versus Buffalo Public Schools.

The Macks were ranked sixth in last week's large school poll, and will likely move up, possibly as high as #2, following a win over Williamsville North on Friday.  McKinley is also considered a top 20 team in NYS in Class A.  East will enter the game as not only the top ranked small school in WNY, but in all of NYS. 

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

 

Season Preview: 2013-2014

 

                                               HAPPY HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS SEASON!!!!!

 

Below in this year's version of the Pre-View From Centercourt, you will find:

 - What's New

- Returning 2013 All-Centercourt Players

- Player Watch List for 2013-2014

- A League-by-League look at returning players & newcomers

- Coaching Changes

- Classification Changes

- Top Nonleague Games

- Predictions 

 

What's New

- During the season last year, I started tweeting. If you don't already, follow @centercourt42 

 - Park School is now a competing member in the Monsignor Martin Athletic Association

- Major divisional realignments in the CCAA, based on geography (See League-By-League below)

- Buffalo Science no longer fields a team

- Frewsburg and Ripley no longer field teams.  Frewsburg has combined with Falconer, while Ripley's talent pool plays at Chautauqua Lake

- Olean will play an independent schedule with, get this, a senior laden squad

- The Class AA semifinals will be played on the Monday of Buffalo State week, with B1 moving to Tuesday, A2 moving to Wednesday, and A1 moving to Thurday.  The B2 games will be split between Tuesday & Wednesday nights.

- The Class C1 and Class D semifinals flipped days at JCC, with Class C1 now playing Monday and Class D playing Wednesday

- Far West Regionals are back in Buffalo this year

- Sterling Taplin is finally a senior. Seriously.

- I-Prep returns to its school on 114th street for home games

 

******************************************************

 

  The Players

Five of the top 25 players from the 2013 All-Centercourt teams return to the WNY high school hoops scene, along with another 17 players that received Honorable Mentions following last season.  In addition, many others are primed to have breakout seasons, while the influx of talented underclassmen continues to surface at multiple schools throughout WNY.

 

Returning 2013 1st Teamer

Sterling Taplin - Sr., Williamsville North:   21.84 PPG  /  5.73  RPG  /  4.21 APG  /  2.94 SPG as a junior

- Already a two-time First Team All-Centercourt selection and two-time ECIC POY as he enters his senior campaign.  The school's all-time points leader has 1,425 to his credit prior to beginning his fifth season as the Spartans' starting floor general.  After he manipulates defenses to free up his teammates for easy baskets to the tune of another 41 assists, he'll own the school record for dimes as well.  Taplin will look to add Section VI champion to his resume this season.

 

 Returning 2013 Second Teamers

 Wil Bathurst - Sr., Olean:  18.4 PPG /  8.0 RPG  /  3.3 APG  / 1.9 BPG  /  1.8 SPG as a junior

- Already verbally committed to play D1 basketball at Cornell next season.  Moved up from Third Team All-Centercourt as a sophomore.  A thoroughly entertaining player to watch because he does every thing so well and with such flare.  This season, Bathurst looks to help Olean attain its goal from the past two seasons, a Class B state title.

Sam Eckstrom - Sr., Olean:  18.2 PPG /  8.0 RPG  /  1.9 BPG as a junior

 - Commited to continue his career at the College of St. Rose in Albany (D2) following his prep days.  Moved up from Third Team All-Centercourt as a sophomore.   Spent much of junior season battling injury, facing constant double-teams, and sitting most of the second half of games as his team built such commanding leads.  The Huskies beefed up their schedule and Eckstrom is healthy, so look for big things from Olean's big man, who should really get his chance to shine this year.

 

Returning 2013 Fifth Teamers

 Ryan Funk - Sr., Clarence:  18 PPG  /  6 RPG  /  2 APG  /  1 SPG as a junior

- Was the MVP of a very good Red Devils team that reached the Class AA semifinals last seson.  Has the size to hurt you down low, but thrives from mid-range and long distance.  Showed the ability to create his own shot, which when it's on, forget about it.  One of the very best shooters in WNY.  

Jake Haight - Sr., Barker: 20.2 PPG  / 13.2 RPG  /  3.1 SPG  /  2.3 APG as a junior

- Needs just 22 points to eclipse 1,000 for his career, something he'll likely get out of the way in game one.  Has been First Team all N-O after his sophomore and junior season efforts.  Combines size and athleticism, producing a well-rounded game that is, at times, dominant.  Such a big fish in a small pond, he is reminiscent of Chris Secky from his days torching the ranks at Maple Grove.

 

Returning 2013 Honorable Mentions

 Donte Williams - 12 (Timon), Dylan Meyer - 12 (Fredonia), Nick Schmidt - 12 (Olean), Luke Hennessey - 12 (Olean), Kevin Briggs - 12 (Middle College), Tyree Tyson - 12 (East), Johnathan Lewis - 12 (East), Brendan Cox - 12 (East Aurora), Kaine Kettle - 12 (Silver Creek), Derrick Sekuterski - 12 (Depew), Bryan Jost - 12 (Clarence), Zack Panebianco - 11 (Jamestown), Chris Miner - 11 (Nichols), Cam Lewis - 11 (Nichols), Bill Brooks - 11 (Silver Creek), Zak Ciezlik - 11 (Cheektowaga), Bryce Morrison - 11 (Randolph)

 

Other names to watch for this season 

 Howard Washington - 10 (Canisius), LaTerrence Reed - 11 (Canisius),  Stafford Trueheart - 10 (Canisius), Justin Hollins - 12 (St. Joe's), Justin Jones - 10 (St. Joe's), Tanner Schmit - 11 (Nichols), Derick Simpson - 11 (Timon), Jonathan Jackson - 12 (Niagara Catholic), Tyler English - 12 (St. Mary's), Rasheed Paul - 12 (East), Percy Bryant - 11 (East), Bri'an Brown - 12 (Middle College), Lester Diaz - 12 (Lafayette), Jared Watkins - 12 (Cleveland Hill), Derek Sekuterski - 12 (Depew), Matt Cieslik - 11 (City Honors), Colin Dougherty - 12 (Lockport), Charlie Sobieraski - 12 (Lockport), Moziah Townsend - 12 (Lockport), Dorian Billups - 11 (Amherst), TC Brown - 10 (Amherst), Randy Dalaba - 12 (Cassadaga Valley), Clay Lewis - 11 (Holland), Quinn Lee Yaw - 12 (Jamestown), Sam Castronova - 11 (Williamsville South), Griffin Ryan - 12 (Hamburg), Matt Kumro - 11 (West Seneca East), Julian Mott - 12 (Starpoint), John Piper - 11 (Fredonia), Jared Fish - 12 (Salamanca), Damien Taylor - 11 (Salamanca), Andrew John - 12 (Silver Creek), Andrew Graham - 12 (Sherman), JaQuoine Fogan - 10 (Tapestry Charter)

 

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League-By-League

 

Independent

 Olean

 Returning: Sam Eckstrom - 12, Wil Bathurst - 12, Nick Schmidt  - 12, Luke Hennessey - 12, Dante Tarr - 11, Chris Gayton - 11, Zach Pfeiffer - 12

 New: Christian Churakos - 10, Connor Prizel - 11, Chucky Martin - 11

 

 MONSIGNOR MARTIN

Canisius

Returning:  Howard Washington - 10, Ryan Richards - 12, Josh Huffman - 11, Patrick MacDonald - 12, Stafford Trueheart - 10, Mike McCall - 12, Matt Klee - 12

New:  LaTerrence Reed - 11, Zachary Koch - 11, Andrew Heitzhaus - 11, Patrick Viola - 11, David Keil - 11, Patrick Crangle - 11

 

St. Joe's 

Returning:  Justin Hollins - 12, Tyler Hill - 12, Justin Jones - 10, Fritz - 11, Adam Killeen - 12, Philip Wells - 12, Alexander Kovacs - 12

New:  Naseer Jackson - 9, Antonio Morreale - 11, Jack Hawkins - 11, John Scaglione - 11, David Maher - 11, Marcell Davis - 11, Edward Tabone Jr - 11

 

Bishop Timon/St. Jude

Returning: Donte Williams - 12, Derick Simpson - 11, Kyler Hairston - 11

New:  William Lamar - 9, Quinton Lamar - 10, Tyree Coble - 11

 

St. Francis

Returning:  Treyvon Holness - 12, Maurice Burse - 12,  Dave Kennedy - 12, Austin Taylor - 12, Chris Shriver - 12

 New:  Kordell Holness - 11, Kiernan Barnes - 10, Joe Carbone - 10, Taurean Davis - 10, John Steven Zhu - 10

 

Nichols

Returning: Christopher Miner - 11, Cam Lewis - 11, Tom Nuttle - 12, Jack Vance - 12, Seth Meyer -12, Greg White - 12, Jordan Tyson - 12

New:  Tanner Schmit - 11 (Transfer from Clarence), Zach Serotte - 11

 

St. Mary's

Returning:  Tyler English - 12, Corey Kiebzak - 12, Matt Wrobel - 12, Latrell Tyson - 12, Dione Strong - 11, Jake Concannon - 11

New:  Takal Molson - 10 (Transfer), Sean Wilson - 11, Austin Oakes - 11, Mark O'Neil - 11

 

 Cardinal O'Hara

Returning:  Zack Glowacki - 12, Donel Cathcart - 11, Kevin Kobza - 12, 

New:  Jovell Littlejohn - 11, Darnell Hamilton - 11, Erich Wheeler - 11, Amir Jemes - 10, David Gariano - 10, Shakur Harris - 9, Clifford Ziegler - 9, Maurice Brown - 12

 

Archbishop Walsh

Returning:  Adam Moore - 10, Gregor Greer - 12, Ethan Clarke - 12, Kieze Hund - 12, Christian Daugherty - 12, Zach Everett - 12, John "Buzz" Watkins - 11

New:  Dom Ambroselli - 10, Noah Watkins - 9

 

Niagara Catholic

Returning:  Jonathan Jackson - 12

 

 Park

 

YALE CUP I

 East

Returning:  Tyree Tyson - 12,  Johnathan Lewis - 12, Damone Brown - 11, Percy Byrant - 11, Shaun Young - 12, Rasheed Paul - 12

New:  Aurielo Ayala - 12 (Transfer from Bennett)

 

McKinley

 Returning:  Dante Thompson - 12, Varin Lenard - 12, D'Andre Steward - 12, Kenny Walters - 12, Devin Morris - 11, Jorge Melendez - 12

Riverside

Returning:  Willie Smith - 12, Jarmel Caldwell - 12, Jevon Rosier - 12, Jovell Littlejohn - 11

 

Middle College

Returning:  Bri'an Brown - 12, Kevin Briggs - 12, TJ Scott - 12, Brandon Jefferson - 12, Isaiah Jenkins - 11, Joseph Staton - 10, Khoron Ferguson - 10, Devon Singleton - 12, X-Ray  Drayton - 12, Elijah Mingo - 12, Xavier Mathews - 12

New:  Billy Rivera - 10

 

Hutch-Tech

Returning:  Roman West - 12, Amanuel Radford - 12

New :  Jailyn Rose - 10

 

South Park 

Returning:  Keion Godson - 12, Austin Peach - 12, Tyler Mascio - 12, James Baker - 10

 

Bennett

 

YALE CUP II

I-Prep

Returning:  Damon Boykin - 12, Ezana Kahsay - 12, Xavier Maye - 11, Terrence James - 11

New:  Jeffrey Townsel - 10, Davon Gant - 10

 

City Honors

Returning: Matt Cieslik - 11, Jordahn Summers - 11, Pasquale Scaife - 12, Tomothy Banks - 12, Jeriff Sanchez - 12, Keith Fulcher - 12, Courtney Carr-Johnson - 12

New:  Nolan Megna - 12

 

MST Seneca

 Returning:  Rayshawn Jones - 12, Jamaal Felton - 12

New:  Roqawn Gossum - 11, Ray (Meko) smith - 12, Jalen Felton - 12

 

Olmsted

Returning:  Brandon Roach - 10, Ballah Burch - 12, Delenci Shannon-Brown - 12

 

Buffalo Arts

New:  Tremaine Shelton - 12 (Transfer from St. Joe's)

 

Lafayette

Returning:  Lester Diaz - 12

 

Burgard

Emerson

DaVinci

 

 ECIC I

 Jamestown

Returning: Quinn Lee Yaw - 12, Zack Panebianco - 11, Josh Colwell - 12, Stephen Carlson - 12, Brian Park - 12, Matt Hoaglund - 11

New:  Zacc Kinsey - 10, Ben Larson - 11

 

Williamsville North

Returning:  Sterling Taplin - 12, George Attea - 11, Maceo Jack - 10, Casey Davis - 12, Ryan Majewski - 12, Kolbe Hughes - 12, Sam Cimato - 12

New:  Sean Hill - 10, Dylan Lambert - 11, Tim Kreuze - 11

 

 Clarence

Returning: Ryan Funk - 12, Bryan Jost - 12, Elliott Case - 12, Shane Weedon - 12, Matt Sadowy - 11, Emaure Williams - 12, Evan Hoarof - 12, Marc Cange - 12

New: Kyle Stevens - 11, Dave Cummisky - 11, Bryan Pulli - 11

 

 Lancaster

Returning:  Joe Jankowski - 12, Tyler Lis - 11, Griffin O'Brien - 11, Eric Zimpfer - 12, Tony Marrano - 12, Mike Spengler - 12

New:  Alex Damiani - 10, Collin Murray - 10, Alex Konst - 10

 

West Seneca West

Returning:  Nick Clancy - 12, Chris Walker – 12,  Evan Koelher – 12, Frank Borzillieri   - 11, DJ Ulmer – 11, Ben Hutton  - 10, Lou DiChristopher  - 11

 

Orchard Park

Returning:  Danny Freilicher - 10, Cameron Murray - 12, Jack Atkinson - 12, Kevin Goltz - 11, Tyler Heath - 12, Brad Roman - 12

New:  Chris Murphy - 12, Matt Perla - 11

 

Frontier

 

ECIC II

Williamsville East

Returning: Cort Williams - 11, Nicholas Clough - 11, Kyle Williams - 11, Joe Adcock - 11, Colin Greenway - 12, Quinn Keenan - 12

New:  Greg Cook - 11, Alex Pieri - 11, Jaleel Battle - 11, Mike Garafalo - 11 (Transfer from Cheektowaga)

 

Williamsville South

Returning:  Matt Macomber - 12, Sam Castronova - 11, Kam Varner - 11

 

Iroquois

Returning:  Phil Bowen - 12, Zach Emer - 11, Coyote Sokolski - 11, Joshua Piesczynski - 12, Lucas Tait - 11, Kyle Seifert - 11

 

Sweet Home

Returning:  James Nix - 12, Jordan Heine - 11, Mark Walker - 12, Mark Fuller - 12, Justin Chatelle - 12

New:  Ron Woods - 12, Rob Siegler - 11, Asa'd Myles - 11, Milton Zielger - 11, Brandon Smiley - 11, Jordan Evert - 11, Adrian Drake - 11, Wayne McDonald - 11, Josh Hammer - 11

 

Hamburg

Returning: Griffin Ryan - 12, Jeremiah Bill - 12, Tim Kane - 12, Joe DeGrood - 11, Brandon Pierce - 12

New:  Brendan Ryan - 10, Kyle Munro - 11, Caleb Wood - 11, Mark Myles - 11, Doug Horbachewski - 11

 

West Seneca East

Returning: Matt Kumro - 11, Nick Parucki - 11, Ed Radka - 10, Dan Picciano - 10

New:  DJ Schiersing - 11, Jake Klubek - 10, Dan Nicosia - 11, Evin Ksiezarczyk - 11,

JakeWojciechowski - 11

 

Starpoint

Returning:  Julian Mott - 12, Ian Emerick - 11, Sam Terrazzino - 12, Logan Seiferth - 12, Alex Leubner - 11

New:  Mike Chase - 11, Dennis Held - 11, Josh Roselund - 11, Eric Yaeger - 11, Bryan Cheskiewicz - 12

 

ECIC III

Amherst

Returning: Dorian Billups - 11, TC Brown - 10, Jordan Nwora - 10, Kevin Waller - 12, Myron Harvey - 12

New:  Darien Lowe - 11, Amadi Ikpeze - 10

 

East Aurora

Returning:  Brendan Cox - 12, Grant Haffenden - 12, Mike Coatsworth - 11, Noah Thompson - 10

 

Cheektowaga

Returning:  Zak Ciezki - 11, Dominik Welch - 9, Patrick Plummer - 11, Preston Summers - 12, Raekwon Williams - 12

New:  Khaya Dlodlo - 11, Keith Weekly - 10, Drequon Trotter - 11, Devon Camel - 11, Adam Reichert - 11, Ricky Stoudmire - 11, Hakiem Black - 11, Alvis Colon - 11, Antonio Southern - 10

 

Depew

Returning:  Derek Sekuterski - 12, Jake Lamb - 12, Steve Kaspraczk - 12, Denis Vanini - 12, Tyler Anna - 11, Bobby Burns - 11

New:  Dylan Sekuterski - 11, Collin Gemerek - 11, Mike Thornton - 11, Kyle Ratajczak - 11, Jakob Grant - 10, Sean Stablewski - 12

 

Maryvale

Returning:  Logan Jung - 12, Ed Smith - 12, Jayln Putnam - 12

 

Pioneer

Returning:  Bryce Little - 11, Adam Benzel - 12, Matt Haggerty - 11, Andrew Hyman - 11, Cole Connolly - 12 

New:  Vince Nourse - 11, Ravo Root - 10, Caleb Sayvone - 10, Dominic Sayvone - 10

 

Lake Shore

Returning:  Wade Bergum - 12

New:  Matt Vona - 11, Colin Hart - 11

 

Springville

 

ECIC IV

Cleveland Hill

Returning:  Jared Watkins - 12, Aaron Phillips - 12, Jermaine Hairston - 11, Wayne Jones - 12, Andrew Huff - 12

New:  Anthony Sullivan - 11, Omari Inman - 11, Aaron Wesley - 11, Zach Lewandowski - 11

 

Lackawanna

Returning: Cam Smith - 12, Larry Fields - 11, Darius Cleveland - 11

New: Quinton Robinson - 11, Roosevelt Jones - 10

 

Tonawanda

Returning:  Ben Stitch - 12, Connor Pumm - 12, Tristan Bolling - 11

New:  Brandon Frye - 11, Larenz Jefferson - 11

 

Holland

Returning:  Clay Lewis - 11, JR Kline - 11

New:  Matt Farant - 11, Cooper Rahn - 11, EJ Staniszewski - 10, Laine Husman - 10, Pierce Gardon - 9

 

JFK

Returning:  Joe Braniecki - 11, Josh McMahon - 11, Cale Byczkowski - 11, Alex Bouttarath - 12

New:  Shawn McPhail - 11, Hunter Kowal - 11, Brendan Fox - 11, Aaron Urbanczyk - 11, Nathan Pazderski - 11, Lexus Pollard - 9, Aaron Poniwas - 11, Collin Snyder - 11

 

Alden

Returning:  Dylan Dussalt - 12, Nick Kibler - 12, Tyler Glaser - 12, Brian Stoldt - 12

New:  Phil Zobrest - 12, Austin Zelasko - 11, Dylan Riddoch - 10, Jordan Stockweather - 10

 

Eden 

Returning:  Brad Palmerton - 12

 

Niagara Frontier League

Niagara Falls

New: Devin Scarbourough - 11, Mikey Bermudez - 11, Deon Harris - 10, Elijah Griggs - 10, Devin Sanders - 9, Tyler Sanders - 9, Zach Walker - 12, Charles Lamar - 9

 

Kenmore West

Returning:  Alex Price - 12, Adam Fron - 12, Tyler Grandits - 12, Noah Whalen - 12, Terrell Ford - 10, Laquan Salter - 12, Nick Wojnar - 12

New:  Trent White - 11, Tim Stoerr - 11, 

 

Grand Island

Returning:  Ryan Ross - 12

 

North Tonawanda

Returning:  Nehemiah Stone - 11, Joe Piotroski - 12, Chris Woodard - 11, Alex Billie - 12, Michael Awad - 12, Donovin Book - 11, Adam McNeil - 11, Jake Ferry - 12, Christian Lemke - 12, Kiel Davignon - 12

New:  Ryan Gilbert - 11, Ryan McDonough - 11, James Garavagli - 11, Drew Krantz - 11

 

Niagara Wheatfield

Returning:  Tyler Gornicki - 12, Nathan Nielson - 10, Joe Ayers - 12, Nick Forcucci - 12, Nathan Williams - 11

New:  Denzel Fuller - 10, Justin Eaton - 11, Brandon Funderburk - 11, Ty Parmentier - 11, Kasey Hasley - 10, Ken Camidge - 11, Preston Miller - 11

 

Lockport

Returning:  Colin Dougherty - 12, Charlie Sobieraski - 12, Moziah Townsend - 12, Ryan Lawrence - 12, Phil Crenshaw - 12, Javon Jenkins - 12, Gerald Baker - 12

 

Kenmore East

Lew-Port

 

Niagara-Orleans

Akron

Returning:  Noah Diebel - 12, Austen Lauricella - 11, CJ Longwell - 12

New:  Chris Mayrose - 12, Nick Doria - 12, Dam Sansanese - 12, Wyn Blueye - 12, Larson Sundown - 11, Caleb Martin - 11, Jake McKenna - 11, Chaunce Hill - 11

 

Newfane

Returning:  Sean Costello - 11, Josh Kneeland - 11, Nathan Aurenhamer - 12

New:  Sam Watkins - 11, Kyle Guerriera - 11, Chad Gilson - 10, Kyle Burdick - 11

 

CSAT

Returning: Dylanta Carson - 11, Alex Santos - 12, Bryan Locke - 11, Jorge Brown - 12, Darrell Wesley - 12

New:  Darius Carson - 9

 

Medina

Returning:  Jason Hellwig - 11, Dan "Mungie" Brown - 12, Drake Grabowski - 12, Larry Bruning - 12, Kevin Arnold - 12, Cedric Griffith - 12, Adam Hoot - 12, Ben McPherson - 12, Josh Cuadro - 12

New: Dylan Lewis - 10, Aaron Feltz - 11, Brennan Zinkievich - 11, David Garrow - 11, Devonte Howard - 11

 

Barker

Returning:  Jake Haight - 12, Mitchell Luckman - 12, Bryce Moeller - 12, Chris Sweeney - 11, Hayden Gooding - 12, Jared Worthington - 12, Tyler Dent - 12

New:  Sean Benoit - 11, Thomas Callaghan - 11, Tanner Gregorie - 11, Joshua Mead - 11, Tristan Payne - 11

 

Roy-Hart

Returning:  Marc Roman - 12, Alex Stoddard - 12, Andy Xapsos - 10, Austin Heschke - 12, DeRon Woods - 12, Sam White - 11, Cory Breedlove - 12, Nelson Andrade - 11

New:  Bailey Hudson - 11, Aaron Metz - 11

 

Wilson

Returning:   Emmett Dinse - 11, Evan Shank - 11, Kevin Daunce - 12, Kyle Bradley - 11

 

Albion

Returning:  Connor Barleben - 12, Chris Rivers - 12, Christian Trevino - 12, Ryan Fannin - 12, Andrew Burroughs - 12

New:  Dez Blackmon - 11, Austin Loyd - 11, Emanuel Thompson - 11, Alex Bison - 11, Clayton Stanton - 11, Gary Moore - 11

 

CCAA I West

Fredonia

Returning: Dylan Meyer - 12, Nick Johnston - 12, John Piper - 11, Cam Voss - 11, Jake Lilly - 12, Cody Cunningham - 12, Eric Jabot - 12, Cody Smith - 12

New:  Anhel Epps - 11, Mike Johnson - 11, Patrick Moore - 10

 

Silver Creek 

Returning:  Kaine Kettle - 12, Bill Brooks - 11, Brennan White - 11

New:  Andrew John - 12, Connor Gates - 10, Ayden Jimerson - 11, Frank  Wolf - 11, Chance Gates - 11

 

Maple Grove

Returning:  Graham Soffel - 11, Corey Wefing - 12, Nick Swanson - 12, Graham Nelson - 12, Collin Stack - 12, Kyle Richardson - 12

 

Southwestern

Returning:  Kyle Moran - 12, Nathan Schrope - 12, Riley Ribicki - 12,  Nick Gustafson - 12, Derek Johnson - 12, Jake Hammond - 12, Pat Mogenhan - 11, Jack Carlson - 11

New:  Mike Sandbloom - 11, Billy Johnston - 11, Andy Bell - 12,  Ben Burk - 10

 

Falconer

Returning:  Brandon DePietro - 12, Nick Conti - 12

 

Dunkirk

Returning:  Emanuel (Manny) Masonet - 12

 

CCAA I EAST 

Randolph

Returning:  Bryce Morrison - 11, Mitchell Maycock - 12, Cody Oldro - 12, Lucas Brown - 12, Taylor Miller - 12

 

Allegany-Limestone

Returning:  Dom Saglimben - 12, Ryan Vossler - 12, Dom Conroy - 11

New:  Cole Davis - 10, Mackenzie Zemak - 12

 

Gowanda

Returning:  Chase Williams - 12, Brennan Geiger - 12, Zach Stevens - 12, Jordan Young - 11

 

 Portville

Returning:  Curtis Caya - 12, Brett Marcellin - 12, Ben Reynolds - 12, Ben Waugh - 12, Zack Ewings - 11, Isaac Hilyer - 11

 

Salamanca

Returning:  Jared Fish - 11, Damien Taylor - 12, Matt Crandall - 12, Joe Hinman - 12, Tyler Siperek - 11

New:  Andrew Crandall - 11

 

 Cattaraugus Little Valley

 Returning:  Justin Forster - 12, Colt Agnew - 12, DJ Steven - 11, Nate Reynolds - 12, Darren Hadley - 12

New:  Gavin Young - 11, Kodie Skeels - 11, Kyle O'Donnell - 11, Jayden Chop - 11

 

CCAA II West 

Cassadaga Valley

Returning:  Randy Dabala - 12, Cody Johnson - 11, Mike Lancaster - 12, Kyle Ruge - 12, Chase Jones - 11

New:  Shane Parsons - 10, Tony Mangine - 11, Jaquan Watts - 11, Will Borkowski - 11, Jerimiah Jones - 11

 

 Westfield

Returning:  Tanner Dahl - 11, Jacob Gray - 12, Liam Tennies - 11, Jesse Rodriguez - 12

New: Ty Benthham - 10, Trevor North - 10, Nolan Hunt - 11,   Brandon Johnston - 12, Chris Brooker - 12, Chris Rodriguez - 12

 

Panama

Returning:  Dan Odell - 12, Mike Rensel - 11, Nick Kirby - 12, Ricky Eddy - 12

New:  David O'Dell - 11, Greg Delahoy - 11, Bryce Payne - 12, Noah Coffaro - 11, Jack Payne - 10, Chris Blose - 11, Josh O'Dell - 11, Dillon Mescall - 11

 

Chautauqua Lake

Returning:  Ian Clute - 12, Carter Davidson - 10,  AJ Hulton - 11, Kyle Mayer - 12, 

New:  Eric Smyanowski - 12 (Transfer from Ripley), Michael Lysek - 10 

 

Sherman

Returning:  Ryan Robson - 12, Andrew Graham - 12, Devin Moorhead - 12, Ryan Myers - 12, Jake Card - 11, Nathan Ottaway - 11, Jordan Boland - 12, Trevor Gleason - 12, Chris Greiner - 12, John Luden - 12

New:  Jeremy Cole - 11, Stephen Walczak - 11, Jake Ames - 11, Collin Finch - 11, Ben Reed - 11, Ethan Lyon - 11, Dylan Scoutan - 12, Cory Alger - 12

 

Clymer

Returning:  Mitch Einink - 12, Jacob Wiggers - 12, Garrett McAfoose - 12, Denton Holthouse - 12, David Holmstrom - 12, Mathew DeStevens - 12

 

Brocton

Returning:  Anthony Riforgiato - 12, Aaron Riforgiato - 10, Bryen Graves - 12, Macalum Buchanon - 12, Conner Dolce - 12, Nash Delcamp - 12, Kyle Witmer - 12, Matt Siragusa - 12

New:  Derek Walter - 11, Daultan Remington - 11

 

CCAA II East

Pine Valley

Returning:  Bryce Jay - 12, Jacob Wilcox - 12, Michael Isula - 12, Andrew Miller - 12, Wil Nelson - 12, Thomas Raiport - 12, Dan Weaver - 12, Dylan Granger - 11, Russell Hayes - 11, Kilian Abers - 10

 

Ellicottville

Returning:  Cameron Wilson - 12, Phalla Musall - 11, Tom Easton - 10, Calum Watt - 11, Fletcher Macomb - 12, Alex Delity - 11

New:  Cole Lapi - 10, Dylan Paprocki - 12, Tanner Gregory - 12, John Alzate - 12, Cory Tomblin - 12, Kevin Bower - 11

 

Forestville

Returning:  Jacob Nosbisch - 12

 

North Collins

West Valley

 Franklinville

 

 Charter Schools

Oracle 

Returning:  Nelson Modi - 12, Jayson Jones-Johnson - 12, Antone Gullege - 12, Barry Bray - 12, Levon Dickson - 12

New:  Shaundez Davis - 11, Kenny White - 10, Brian Bradberry - 12

 

Tapestry

Returning:  Jon Spears - 12, JaQuoine Fogan - 10, DeJuan Owens - 11, DaQuan Lias - 12

New:  Jordan Maxey - 11, DaVonte Cunningham - 10, Marques Perkins - 11, Jesus McClain - 11, Poshine Jenifer - 11, Andre Bragg  - 11, Keith Littlejohn - 11, Joe Henderson - 11, Kaleb King - 11,Chemar Pilot - 11, Dallas Williams - 12

 

Health Sciences

Returning:  Allen Wright Jr - 12, Carl "Boonie" Goodwin - 12, Aaron Day - 12, Marquist Lumpkin - 12, Cory Wiseman - 12, Davion Washington - 12, Ja'Quan Sullivan - 12, Nasir Flood - 11, Jason Giles - 12, Shiloh Gibbs - 12, Ivory Prince - 12

 

WNY Maritime

 Returning:  Isaiah Padin - 12, Rodney Lee - 12, Charles Davis - 12, Marques DeBose - 12, Joseph Adeleke - 12, 

New:  Damon Glenn - 10, Brian Johnson - 10

 

Global Concepts

 Returning:  Fred Searles - 11

New:  Fabian Pierce - 10 (Transfer from Lackawanna)

 

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New Coaches

Ron Killinger, South Park

Roland Davis, Riverside

David Nieves, Hutch-Tech

Brandon Woods, Global Concepts

Scott Gill, Eden

Justin Abel, Orchard Park

Brett Lyford, Lake Shore

Steve O'Brien, Dunkirk

Michael Putney, Chautauqua Lake

 Brennan Meakin, Albion

 

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Classification Changes

North Tonawanda moves down from Class AA to Class A1

West Seneca East moves up from Class A2 to Class A1

Starpoint moves up from Class A2 to Class A1

Iroquois moves up from Class A2 to Class A1

East Aurora moves up from Class B1 to Class A2

Springville moves up from Class B1 to Class A2

Albion moves up from Class B1 to Class A2

Maryvale moves up from Class B1 to Class A2

Buffalo Arts moves up from Class B2 to Class B1

Medina moves up from Class B2 to Class B1

City Honors moves up from Class B2 to Class B1

Fredonia moves up from Class B2 to Class B1

Falconer moves up from Class B2 to Class B1

 Salamanca moves up from Class C1 to Class B2

 DaVinci moves up from Class C1 to Class B2

 Oracle Charter moves up from Class C1 to Class B2

 Lackawanna moves down from Class B1 to Class B2

Health Sciences moves up from Class C2 to Class B2

Portville moves up from Class C2 to Class C1

Silver Creek moves up from Class C2 to Class C1

Randolph moves down from Class C1 to Class C2

 

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Top Nonleague Games 

 12/3 Salamanca @ Silver Creek

12/4 - Cleveland Hill vs. Nichols @ Lancaster

12/4 - Williamsville East vs. Oracle Charter @ Daemen College

12/5 - East vs. Timon/St. Jude @ Daemen College

12/5 - St. Mary's vs. Middle College @ Daemen College

12/5 - McKinley vs. Kenmore West @ Daemen College

12/5 - Randolph @ Maple Grove

12/6 - Clarence vs. North Tonawanda @ Amherst

12/6 - Oracle Charter @ Amherst

12/6 - Sir Edmund McNabb @ Niagara Falls

12/6 - Sherman @ Randolph

12/6 - Williamsville East @ Lockport

12/7 - St. Joe's vs. Will East/Lockport 

12/7 - Williamsville North vs. Timon @ NFHS

12/7 - Bishop Kearney @ Niagara Falls

12/7 - Consolation & Championship of Amherst Tourny

12/7 - Championship of Olean Tourny (potentially Silver Creek @ Olean)

12/9 - Oracle Charter @ Newfane

12/10 - Aquinas @ St. Joe's

12/10 - Timon @ Olean

12/11 - Maple Grove @ Randolph

12/13 - Fordham @ Canisius

12/13 - Aquinas @ Timon

12/13 - Olean @ Bishop Kearney

12/13 - Greece Athena vs. Fredonia @ Jamestown

12/13 - Oracle Charter @ City Honors

12/13 - Olmsted @ Sherman

12/14 - Greece Athena/Fredonia @ Jamestown

12/14 - Consolation & Championship of Tom Keenan Tourny @ Canisius

12/17 - St. Joe's @ Bishop Kearney

12/17 - Fredonia @ Lackawanna

12/19 - Nichols vs. Depew @ Canisius

12/20 - Clarence vs. St. Mary's @Canisius

12/21 - Randolph @ Sherman

12/21 - St. Joe's vs. McKinley @ Canisius

12/21 - Olean @ Canisius

12/21 - City Honors vs. St. Mary's @ Depew

12/21 - Lancaster @ Depew

12/23 - Consolation & Chanpionship Rounds of Depew Tournament (Beware of Transit Rd. holiday traffic!  I once missed the entire consolation game on 12/23 because of it.)

12/27 - Middle College vs. Tapestry @ St. Joe's

12/28 - Championship of Clarence Tourny (potentially Fredonia @ Clarence)

12/28 - University Prep @ Timon

1/3 - Greece Athena @ Olean

1/3 - Randolph @ Silver Creek

1/6 - McKinley @ Clarence

1/6 - Nichols @ Lackawanna

1/6 - Bishop Kearney @ Timon

1/8 - Canisius @ Aquinas

1/10 - Williamsville North @ McKinley

1/11 - Olean @ Aquinas

1/14 - Canisius @ Bishop Kearney

1/18 - Canisius vs. McKinley @ City Honors

1/18 - East vs. Sweet Home @ City Honors

1/18 - Cheektowaga vs. Middle College @ City Honors

1/18 - Sherman @ Olmsted

1/21 - Olean @ St. Mary's

1/22 - Silver Creek @ Salamanca

 1/24 - Williamsville South @ Olean

1/24 - Batavia @ Lackawanna

1/28 - Lockport @ Batavia

1/29 - Olean @ Timon

1/31 - MST Seneca @ Lackawanna

2/1 - Timon & Jamestown playing Sec V teams in RAP Classic @ Rochester's East High

2/1 - Olean @ Greece Athena

2/1 - Silver Creek @ Randolph

2/7 - Bishop Kearney @ Olean

2/8 - Cathedral Prep @ Canisius

2/9 - Willliamsville South @ St. Joe's

2/12 - St. Mary's @ Fredonia

2/13 - St. Joe's @ Kenmore West

2/14 - North Tonawanda @ Cleveland Hill 

 

************************************************

 

Predictions

 

MMA - Canisius

Yale Cup I - East

Yale Cup II - City Honors

ECIC I - Jamestown

ECIC II - Williamsville East

ECIC III - Amherst

ECIC IV - Cleveland Hill

NFL - Lockport

N-O - Barker

CCAA I West - Fredonia

CCAA I East - Randolph

CCAA II West - Sherman

CCAA II East - Pine Valley

Charters:  Oracle

 

Manhattan Cup: Canisius

Class AA: Jamestown

Class A1: North Tonawanda

Class A2: Amherst

Class B1: Olean

Class B2: East

Class C1: Middle College

Class C2: Randolph

Class D: Sherman

 

  -centercourt

@centercourt42

Ad Pro Sports Public/Private Challenge

 

The artist formerly known as the ECIC/MMA challenge has a new name and a new location, but its still a three-day, ten-game event played prior to the holiday break.  This season, the location has moved to Canisius High School after several years at St. Mary's in Lancaster, and has been more accurately named a public/private challenge.

 

As always, the event features some intriguing early season nonleague matchups between some of WNY's top programs, and the event's finale is a doozy: a rematch from last season's challenge between Canisius and Olean.  The two programs finished atop their respective polls (Canisius in the large schools and Olean in the small schools) following the 2013 campaign, and both are likely to open this year right where they left off - on top.

 

In last season's game, Olean built an astounding 47-21 halftime lead, then hung on for dear life as the Crusaders came storming back before ultimately falling, 76-73.  Here's a link to a complete game recap from last season's classic.

 

Thursday, December 19th

Park vs. Iroquois - 4 pm

Niagara Catholic vs. I-Prep - 5:30 pm

Nichols vs. Depew - 7 pm

 

Friday, December 20th

Cardinal O'Hara vs. Alden - 4 pm

Archbishop Walsh vs. Lancaster - 5:30 pm

St. Mary's vs. Clarence - 7 pm

 

Saturday, December 21st

St. Francis vs. Cheektowaga - 11 am

Timon vs. Sweet Home - 12:30 pm

St. Joe's vs. McKinley - 2 pm

Canisius vs. Olean - 3:30 pm

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

 

 

The 2013 All-Centercourt Team: The Best in WNY

 

CC MVP:

Adam Weir - Canisius, Senior

Since his sophomore season, you could see something special in Adam Weir.  He returned for his junior season noticably taller and a whole lot more confident and aggressive, resulting in an outstanding season both for his team, and individually.  As a result, he was selected to First Team All-Centercourt as a junior.  This season, the talented 6-4 senior looked and played more focused than ever before, taking his game to yet another level.

 Whether he came bursting out of the gates to score in double figures before the end of the first quarter, or he took over at a timely moment later in the game, Weir always played a stretch of the game like he was on such a mission, there was simply no stopping him.  He could come flying off a screen and catch & shoot, beat you baseline and flush it with ease, or drive the lane and drop dimes without looking as the help came.  He was equally effective running in transition or in a half court set.

 Best of all, Weir played the game the right way.  He went hard all the time, was a leader to his teammates, and maintained that same look of focus regardless of the game circumstances.  There was no showmanship and no whining, just basketball. And this season in WNY, Weir played basketball at the kind of level that earns you Player of the Year honors.

 

**************************************************

 

 First Team All-Centercourt

Adam Weir - Canisius, Senior

 21.0 PPG  /  7.0 RPG  /  2.0 APG  /  1.5 SPG

Earned the distinction of being the best player on the best team.  Led Canisius to an unbeaten season in the MMA, to a third straight Manhattan Cup in as many varsity seasons, and to the CHSAA Class A state championship game.  Named All-Catholic Player of the Year.  Last season's Manhattan Cup MVP and first team Manhattan Cup all-tournament team this year.

 

Jermaine Crumpton - Niagara Falls, Senior

20 PPG / 12 RPG / 3 BPG / 3 APG

Crumpton led a Wolverines team that was ranked at the top of WNY for much of the season.  Improved over his three-year varsity career into one of the premier players in the area, combining athleticism with a soft touch from anywhere on the court.  Dropped a season-high 32 points against Grand Island and led NFHS to season-opening win over NYSPHAA Class AA state champion, Bishop Kearney.  He will attend Canisius College next year, where he will continue playing basketball.

 

Sterling Taplin - Williamsville North, Junior

21.84 PPG  /  5.73  RPG  /  4.21 APG  /  2.94 SPG

A returning First Team All-Centercourt selection from 2012, Taplin was named ECIC Player of the Year.  Has already been a four-year starter on varsity and will enter his senior season with 1,425 points - the school's all-time leader. Needs just 41 more assists to own the school record in that category.  Named MVP of Five Guys Tournament and player of the game after a win over Batavia at the Cataract City Classic.  Has excellent court vision and is tremendous at creating opportunities for his teammates.  Plays such a smooth style that defenders are often left watching him blow by, having had no idea it was about to happen.  Put on a clinic in a 61-47  win at Jamestown in January as he sliced through the defense at will, finishing with 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals.  With one more season remaining, the sky is the limit as to where his talents could take him following his prep career.

 

Lovell Smith -  McKinley, Senior

15.0 PPG  /  10.0 RPG  /  4.2 SPG  /  2.6 APG  /  2.1 BPG

Led McKinley to its first ever NYSPHAA Class A state championship and was named MVP of the tournament.  Selected to First Team All-High for a second straight year after his Macks finished a second straight season unbeaten in the Yale Cup.  Brings relentless energy on both ends of the court for the entire contest and is highly effective. Plays  about five inches taller than he is.  Gets to the basket with ease and soars high above the rim.  

 

Marcus Morris - McKinley, Senior

16.0 PPG  /  8.0 RPG  /  5.7 APG  /  3.0 SPG  /  2.2 BPG

The Yale Cup I Player of the Year saw his stock skyrocket after his performance in the overall Class A championship win over Amherst.  Morris scored a game-high 28 points, including the game-winner with 18 seconds left.  Bombed in 57 3-pointers on the season.  Was at his best from the perimeter, but mastered the art of driving and stopping on a dime to pull-up over an opponent.  A good passer who seemed to have a highlight assist in every game.  Once described to me by his coach, Zaire Dorsey, as "in range" as soon as he enters the gym.  

 

*******************************************************

 

 Second Team All-Centercourt

Zed Williams - Silver Creek, Senior

17.7 PPG / 8.33 APG / 7.16 RPG

 One of the most versatile and well-rounded players in WNY and the unquestioned leader of the Black Knights.  Depending on the matchup, would run the point or play inside, and always drew the opposing team's top scorer to defend.  Led his team to a state semifinal appearance in Class C and 23-1 record, that included a 23-game win streak.  Scored a season-high 38 points in the sectional quarterfinals against Olmsted, and put on an inspiring performance to advance Silver Creek past Middle College in the overall Class C championship for Section VI.  Williams willl attend Virginia to play lacrosse.

 

Tommy Campion - Jamestown, Senior

21.2 PPG /  2.9 APG /  2.7 RPG /  2.3 SPG

Named Co-Player of the Year in ECIC I after Jamestown won the league for a second straight season.  A four-year varsity player, Campion led his Red Raiders to a third section VI Class AA title in four seasons this year.  Joined the elite 1,000 point club at Jamestown this year during a season-high 40 point outburst against Lancaster, and was on fire against St. Joe's, scoring 31 points in the MMA/ECIC challenge.  In Jamestown's regional loss to eventual state champion Bishop Kearney,  he was aggressive in attacking the defense and showed his game could thrive against the best competition in the state.  Campion will continue his hoops career at Hobart next year.

 

Wil Bathurst - Olean, Junior

18.4 PPG /  8.0 RPG  /  3.3 APG  / 1.9 BPG  /  1.8 SPG

The do-it-all junior stands out to anyone watching a Huskies game for his smooth and effective style that controls the pace of games.  Was named Co-Player of the Year in CCAA I and Olean's Tip-off Tournament MVP. In the Huskies' sectional  championship win, Bathurst scored 19 points, grabbed 10 boards, dished nine assists, blocked seven shots, and had two steals.  Scored the go-ahead basket following a steal in the Far West Regionals, before Olean fell in a heart-breaker at the buzzer.

 

Sam Eckstrom - Olean, Junior

18.2 PPG /  8.0 RPG  /  1.9 BPG

The most fundamentally sound big man in WNY has already surpassed 1,000 points in his career, before his senior campaign even begins. Routinely draws the attention of opposing defenses and double teams, yet still thrives in the paint.  Was named Co-Player of the Year in CCAA I.  Scored a season-high 30 points against Fredonia, and did it in just under two and a half quarters.  Will continue to field several offers until he makes a decision on where he will continue to play after next season.

 

Jonathan Belton - Amherst, Senior

17 PPG  /  7.64 RPG  /   6.95 APG  / 4.7 SPG  / 1.3 BPG

Named first team All-ECIC, ECIC III Player of the Year, Jolly Boys Tournament MVP, and team MVP.  Led Amherst to a Class A2 title and a 20-game winning streak.  Scored in double figures in 20 of 22 games, and in one of the games he did not score double figures, he logged double-digits in assists and rebounds.  The Tigers looked to get the ball in his hands, not only because he was a playmaker, but also because he took care of the ball - Belton recorded a 3.6 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. 

 

 *************************************************

 

Third Team All-Centercourt

Keir Anderson - Middle College, Senior

 22 PPG /  4.6 RPG  /  3.5 APG  /   2.6 SPG  

Led the Kats to a second straight Class C1 title and a second place finish in Yale Cup I.  Scored a season-high 32 points in the C1 final against Oracle Charter, with 22 of those points coming during an explosive first half.  Went off for a triple-double in winning the rematch at East, including 31 points.  Over the final month of the season, Anderson averaged better than 25 points per game.  His leadership qualities could be seen on the court and heard in any of his postgame comments.  Named to First team All-High.

 

Aaron White - Canisius, Senior

11.5 PPG  /  5.0 APG  /  3.0 SPG

The floor general for the three-time Maanhattan Cup champs.  Manhattan Cup MVP.  Named First Team All-Catholic.  Selected as MVP at the RAP Classic.  Regarded by many as not only the best defender, but also the quickest guard in WNY.  Shifty with an outstanding handle, White would constantly shake down defenders and then blow past them.  Added a reliable three-point shot to his arsenal this year, making him even more dangerous.  

 

Matt MacDonald - Canisius, Senior

15.5 PPG  /  5.5 RPG  /  2.0 APG

Named to First Team All-Catholic.  Manhattan Cup all-tournament team.  Has a very high basketball IQ.  Possibly the best pure shooter in the area this season.  Deadly from beyond the arc and knocked down free throws like they were layups.  Was an obvious leader for the Crusaders and facilitated the offense at a high level.  Described by his coach, Kyle Husband, as one of the hardest workers he's ever had.

 

Darnell Carson - CSAT, Senior

23.6 PPG /  4.4 APG  /  3.8 SPG  / 2.9 RPG

Combines a ridiculous handle with exceptional quickness, and at times, makes it look like he's just toying with defenders.  He can drive, dish, and shoot, and was an exceptional defender, as evidenced by his eye-popping steals per game average.  Led the Eagles to the first unbeaten season the  N-O  league has seen in over a decade.  Led a wild 17-point second half comeback victory at Newfane, pouring in a career-high 35 points, while completely taking over the game.

 

Reyjzon Jordan - McKinley, Senior

10.4 PPG  /  6.0 RPG  /  6.0 SPG  /  5.4 APG  

Was the point guard for the state champion Macks and one of the top defenders in WNY.  The Yale Cup Player of the Year in 2012, Jordan was named to First Team All-High this season.  Selected to the Federation Class A all-tournament team, following his 15-point performance there.  

 

 *********************************************************

 

Fourth Team All-Centercourt

JJ Wilkes - Niagara Falls, Senior

13 PPG  /  7 APG  /  4 SPG  /  2 RPG

The three-year varsity starter dealt with a knee injury that limited him to just 16 games including the postseason, but still turned in an outstanding campaign.  Widely regarded as a top defender in WNY, he scored a season-high 26 points in the Class AA semifinals against Kenmore West.  Hopes to attend Monroe CC (where Davon Marshall started) or Polk CC in Florida.

 

Paul Rath - St. Mary's, Senior

14.1 PPG  /  5.3 RPG  /  5.2 APG  /  4.2 SPG

Was at his best in big games, particularly in three games against Nichols and in a double overtime battle with St. Joe's.  The reining Centercourt Sixth-man of the year winner, Rath was selected to First Team All-Catholic.  Took MVP honors at the Jack silvernail and Depew Tournaments, along with the Pastor-Cooper Showcase and Cataract City Classic.  Is between Hilbert, Medaille, and Daemen for his colllege choice.

 

Nate Wilkinson - Iroquois, Senior

23.48 PPG  /  3.5 APG  /   2.43 SPG  /   2.0 RPG

Winner of Player of the Year honors in ECIC II and also selected to First Team All-ECIC.  Led the Chiels to the Class A2 championship game.  Scored a season-high 36 points and also registered a pair of 34-point outings.  Holds the school record for steals in a game (11) and tied a school record for points in a quarter (19). 

 

Tyrell Mitchell - South Park, Senior

26.25 PPG

Led the Sparks to their best season in years, as they reached the semifinals in Class A2.  A pure scorer who could hurt you anyplace on the court.  Owner of the single-game scoring mark in WNY for the 2013 season fir his career-high 41 point game. 

 

Daequan Warren - McKinley, Senior

11.0 PPG  /  8.0 RPG  /  4.0 SPG  /  3.0 APG

 A key starter for the Class A state champs and back-to-back Class A1 champs.  Selected to Second-Team All-High.  At 6-4, Warren moved and handled the ball beautifully and his style of play complemented what the Macks did perfectly.  Perhaps the most well-rounded of the Macks this season, Warren got better as the season wore on and by the end of the year, his contributions were invaluable.

 

 *********************************************************

 

Fifth Team All-Centercourt

Zach Blask - Portville, Senior

18.8 PPG  /   7.5 APG  /  4.3 SPG

Voted the CCAA II Player of the Year.  Was content to score, defend, distribute, and handle the ball for the Panthers and was always the focal point of opposing defenses.  Led Portville to the Class C2 championship game, after a masterful performance against Maple Grove in the semifinals, in which he repeatedly broke the Red Dragons trademark pressure.   A career 1,000 point scorer, his season-high of 32 points came against Cattaraugus/Little Valley.

 

Gerald Bibbs - Oracle Charter, Senior

12.8 PPG  /  11.5 RPG  /  3.0 SPG  /  1.9 APG  /  1.7 BPG

 Voted the Charter School Player of the Year and also selected as team MVP.  Controlled activity in the paint and played even bigger than what he was listed at.  Led the Phoenix through a 19-game winning streak, that included wins against McKinley and North Tonawanda, all the way to the Class C1 final.  

 

Ryan Funk - Clarence, Junior

18 PPG  /  6 RPG  /  2 APG  /  1 SPG

A First Team All-ECIC selection and the only underclassmen to earn that honor.  Also named team MVP and choosen as the MVP of the Clarence Tournament.  Led a Red Devils team that was ranked all season, to the Class AA semifinals.  Scored a career-high 37 points against Lancaster and dropped 33 points on Lockport in the quarterfinals, including 19 second half points. 

 

Jake Haight - Barker, Junior

20.2 PPG  / 13.2 RPG  /  3.1 SPG  /  2.3 APG 

A First Team selection in the N-O after both his sophomore and junior campaigns.  Will enter his senior season with 978 career points.  Can hurt you from the perimeter, drive the lane for a dunk, or pull up someplace in between for a jumper.  Led Barker to the Class C1 semifinals after  a tough road win at Holland.

 

Clark Brueckl - Lake Shore, Senior

18.3 PPG  /  5 RPG

Named to First Team ECIC III.  A scorer with incredible range from outside.  Set the school record for 3-pointers in game with nine, and finished the season 67 total treys to his credit.   Lit up Pioneer for a season-high 39 points on 9/12 shooting from downtown.  Will attend Alfred next year.

 

***********************************************

 

 HONORABLE MENTION

Stephen Marcey - Silver Creek, Senior

Ramir Burton - Niagara Falls, Senior

Quinton Campbell - Kenmore West, Senior

Louie Oliveri - St. Joe's, Senior

Jordan Glover  - St. Joe's, Senior

Jaylen Morris - St. Joe's, Senior

Demone Harris - Timon/St. Jude, Senior

Chaq Nettles - Williamsville South, Senior

Jamarr Cuningham - Oracle Charter, Senior

Eric Waters - Oracle Charter, Senior

Clayton Hess - Tonawanda, Senior

Alex Turecki - Amherst, Senior

Jordan Parker - Cleveland Hill, Senior

Ahmad Abdo - Lackawanna, Senior

Jovohn Owens - Hutch-Tech, Senior

Jack Mulcahey - Niagara Wheatfield, Senior

Dan Lictus - Clymer, Senior

Donte Williams - Timon/St. Jude, Junior

Dylan Meyer - Fredonia, Junior

Nick Schmidt - Olean, Junior

Luke Hennessey - Olean, Junior

Kevin Briggs - Middle College, Junior

Tyree Tyson - East, Junior

Johnathan Lewis - East, Junior

Brendan Cox - East Aurora, Junior

Kaine Kettle - Silver Creek, Junior

Bryan Jost - Clarence, Junior

Derrick Sekuterski - Depew, Junior

Zack Panebianco - Jamestown, Sophomore

Branden Kellam - Jamestown, Sophomore

Chris Miner - Nichols, Sophomore

Cam Lewis - Nichols, Sophomore

Bill Brooks - Silver Creek, Sophomore

Bryce Morrison -  Randolph, Sophomore

Zak Ciezlik - Cheektowaga, Sophomore

 

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42 

All-League Teams - 2013

 

MONSIGNOR MARTIN ASSOCIATION

Player of the Year:

 Adam Weir - Canisius, 12

 

First Team

Matt MacDonald - Canisius, 12

Louie Oliveri - St. Joe's, 12

Paul Rath - St. Mary's, 12

Aaron White - Canisius, 12

Donte Williams - Timon, 11

 

Second Team

Jordan Glover - St. Joe's, 12

Demone Harris - Timon, 12

Cam Lewis - Nichols, 10

Chris Miner - Nichols, 10

Jaylen Morris - St. Joe's, 12

 

*************************************************************

 

 

YALE CUP I

Player of the Year:

Marcus Morris - McKinley, 12

 

First Team

Lovell Smith - McKinley, 12

Keir Anderson - Middle College, 12

Tyree Tyson - East, 11

Kevin Briggs - Middle College, 11

Reyjzon Jordan - McKinley, 12

 

Second Team

Tyrell Mitchell - South Park, 12

Johnathan Lewis - East, 11

Daequan Warren - McKinley, 12

Bri'an Brown - Middle College, 11

Willie Smith - Riverside, 11

 

Third Team

Percy Bryant - East, 10

Jovohn Owens - Hutch-Tech, 12

Tarron Scott - Middle College, 11

Aymanuel Radford - Hutch-Tech, 11

Samuel Smith - McKinley, 12

 

Honorable Mention

Avrelio Ayala - Bennett, 11

Dante Thompson - McKinley, 11

Joseph Stanton - Middle College, 9

Jovell Littlejohn - Riverside, 10

Jonathan Kinley - East, 10

 

******************************************************************

 

YALE CUP II & III

Player of the Year:

Lester Diaz - Lafayette, 12

 

First Team

JaVaughn McNab - MST Seneca, 12

Lenny Dowell - Emerson, 12

Daquan Walker - Burgard, 12

Malcolm Hendrick - Olmsted, 10

Damon Boykin - I-Prep, 11

 

Second Team

 Jon Colon - Lafayette, 12

Tyler James - Buffalo  Arts, 12

Jamaal Felton - MST Seneca, 11

Jordan Garrett - Emerson, 12

Yusef Burgos - City Honors, 12

 

Honorable Mention

Burgard:  Sean Marshall - 12, Aaron Jones - 12

I-Prep:  Terrance James - 10, Willquan Burgess - 10

City Honors:  Matt Cieslik - 10

Buffalo Arts:  Ivan Harris - 11

MST Seneca:  Ben Bolden - 12

Olmsted:  Jalen Schumaker - 12

DaVinci:  Darius Henry - 12

 

*********************************************************************

 

ALL ECIC

Player of the Year:

Sterling Taplin - Williamsville North, 11

 

First Team

Tommy Campion - Jamestown, 12

Jonathan Belton - Amherst, 12

Nate Wilkinson - Iroquois, 12

Ryan Funk - Clarence, 11

Jordan Parker - Cleveland Hill, 12

 

Second Team

Brendan Cox - East Aurora, 11

Clayton Hess - Tonawanda, 12

Ahmad Abdo - Lackawanna, 12

Alex Turecki - Amherst, 12

Derrick Sekuterski - Depew, 11

 

*****************************************************************

 

 ECIC I

Co-Players of the Year:

Tommy Campion - Jamestown, 12  

Sterling Taplin - Williamsville North, 11

 

First Team

Ryan Funk - Clarence, 11

David Berkun - Williamsville North, 12

Branden Kellam - Jamestown, 10

Quinn Lee Yaw - Jamestown, 11

Byran Jost - Clarence, 11

 

Second Team

Kevin Marcinkowski - Frontier, 12

Zack Panebianco - Jamestown, 1o

Matt Wheelock - West Seneca West - 12

Bobby Florio - Clarence, 12

Tanner Schmit - Clarence, 10

 

Honorable Mention

Lancaster:  Sean Murray - 12, Mac Garby - 12

Clarence:  Emarure Williams - 10

West Seneca West:  Nick Clancy - 11

Frontier:  David Rajski - 12

Williamsville North:  George Attea - 10

 

********************************************************************

 

ECIC II

Player of the Year:

Nate Wilkinson - Iroquois, 12

 

First Team

Phil Bowen - Iroquois, 12

Chaq Nettles - Williamsville South, 12

Damien Powers - Williamsville South, 12

Mike Torrillo - Sweet Home, 12

Cort Williams - Williamsville East, 10

 

Second Team

Khalid Barnes - Sweet Home, 12

Zachary Bischel - Williamsville East, 12

Kole Gilchrist - Sweet Home, 12

Andrew Rankie - Starpoint, 12

Griffin Ryan - Hamburg, 11

 

Honorable Mention

Nicholas Clough - Williamsville East, 10

Nick Parucki - West Seneca East, 10

Andrew Sardina - Hamburg, 12

Kyle Violanti - Hamburg, 12

 

*******************************************************************

 

ECIC III

Player of the Year:

Jonathan Belton - Amherst, 12

 

First Team

Derrick Sekuterski - Depew, 11

Brendan Cox - East Aurora, 11

Alex Turecki - Amherst, 12

Clark Brueckl - Lake Shore, 12

Zak Ciezki - Cheektowaga, 10

Ed Smith - Maryvale, 12

 

Second Team

Ian Allen - East Aurora, 12

Max Aiken - Maryvale, 12

Dion Lewis - Amherst, 12

Preston Summers - Cheektowaga, 11

Terik Lewis - Pioneer, 12

Denis Vanini - Depew, 11

 

Honorable Mention

Cheektowaga:  Dominick Welch - 11, Derek Clyburn - 12

Maryvale:  Demetri McCallie - 12

East Aurora:  Michael Coatsworth - 10

Lake Shore:  Ryan Joslyn - 12

Springville:  William Dickinson, 12

 

***********************************************************************

 

ECIC IV

Co-Players of the Year:

Jordan Parker - Cleveland Hill, 12

Clayton Hess - Tonawanda, 12

 

First Team

Shaquille Brooks - Lackawanna, 12

Ahmad Abdo - Lackawanna, 12

Clay Lewis - Holland, 10

Richard Sotero - Cleveland Hill, 12

 

Second Team 

Damone Sylvers - Lackawanna, 10

Dylan Dussalt - Alden, 11

Aaron Phillips - Cleveland Hill, 11

Ben Stitch - Tonawanda, 11

Bradley Palmerton - Eden, 11

 

Honorable Mention

Lackawanna:  Cam Smith - 11, Deron Adams - 12

Alden:  Corey Barcyzkowski - 12, Tyler Glasser - 11, Nick Kibbler - 11

Holland:  Curtis Blendinger - 12, Storm Phillips - 12, JR Kline - 10

JFK:  Zack Walkowski - 12, Tyler Gabrielli - 12

 

*******************************************************************

 

NIAGARA FRONTIER LEAGUE

 

First Team

Jermaine Crumpton - Niagara Falls, 12

Quinten Campbell - Kenmore West, 12

Jack Mulcahey - Niagara Wheatfield, 12

Ian Gilhousen - North Tonawanda, 12

Ramir Burton - Niagara Falls, 12

 

Second Team

JJ Wilkes - Niagara Falls, 12

Vinzell Watkins - Niagara Falls, 11

Nick Mansour - Lew-Port, 12

Moziah Townsend - Lockport, 11

Ryan Ross - Grand Island, 11

 

Third Team

Charlie Sobierski - Lockport, 11

Pat Schroeder - Kenmore East, 12

Nehemiah Stone - North Tonawanda, 10

Colin Dougherty - Lockport, 11

Ryan Lawrence - Lockport, 11

 

************************************************************

 

Niagara-Orleans League

 

First Team

Darnell Carson - CSAT, 12

Jake Haight - Barker, 11

Connor Sears - Newfane, 12

Brad Bobbit - Roy-Hart, 12

Connor Ladd - Akron, 12

 

Second Team

Blake Copella - Roy-Hart, 12

Austin Mietz - Akron, 12

Jaquille Peay - CSAT, 12

Reid Weber - Newfane, 12

Mitchell Luckman - Barker, 11

 

Honorable Mention

CSAT:  Alex Santos - 10

Newfane:  Bryan Geise - 12

Roy-Hart:  Ryan Farewell - 12, Alex Stoddard - 11

Akron:  Gowah Abrams - 12

Medina:  Mungie Brown - 11, Lonnie Taylor - 12

Albion:  Fred Koester - 12

Wilson:  Matt Baker - 12

 

*******************************************************************

 

CCAA I

Co-Players of the Year:

Wil Bathurst - Olean, 11

Sam Eckstrom - Olean, 11

 

First Team

Dylan Meyer - Fredonia, 11

Kyle Radack - Southwestern - 12

Max Portlow - Olean, 12

John Piper - Fredonia, 10

Alek Peck - Southwestern, 12

 

Second Team

Pat Scholla - Olean, 12

Domonic Saglimben - Allegany-Limestone, 11

Nick Conti - Falconer, 12

Ryan Vossler - Allegany-Limestone, 11

Nick Johnston - Fredonia, 11

 

Honorable Mention

Olean:  Nick Schmidt - 11, Luke Hennessey - 11, Evan Ryan - 12

Fredonia:  Jon Fletcher - 12

Dunkirk:  Michael Bess - 12, Alex Crossan - 12, Jacob Lockett - 12, Marquel Ruiz - 12

Falconer:  Mitch Carter - 12

Gowanda:  Zach Stevens - 11, Brennan Gieger - 11, Chase Williams - 11

Allegany-Limestone:  Caswell Stanton - 12

Southwestern:  Peter Trathen - 12

 

**************************************************************

 

CCAA II

Player of the Year:

Zach Blask - Portville, 12

 

First Team

Zed Williams - Silver Creek, 12

Kaine Kettle - Silver Creek, 11

Bill Brooks - Silver Creek, 10

Bryce Morrison - Randolph, 10 

 

Second Team

Stephen Marcey - Silver Creek, 12

Alex Elderkin - Frewsburg, 12

Nathan Beaver - Rndolph, 12

Tanner John - Salamanca, 12

Jared Fish - Salamanca, 10

Tim Bender - Cassadaga Valley, 12

 

Honorable Mention

Silver Creek:  Brennan White - 10

Portville:  Curtis Caya - 11

Salamanca:  Bryce Stahlman - 12

Cassadaga Valley:  Randy Dalaba - 12, Mike Lancaster - 12

Randolph:  Mitchell Maycock - 11, Cody Oldro - 11

Frewsburh:  Josh Nelson

Cattaraugus/Little Valley:  Colt Agnew

 

****************************************************************

 

CCAA III

 Co-Players of the Year:

Will Soffel - Maple Grove, 12

Aaron Germain - Maple Grove, 12

 

First Team

Will Soffel - Maple Grove, 12

Aaron Germain - Maple Grove, 12

John Coe - Westfield, 12

Tanner Dahl - Westfield, 10

Alec Blose - Panama, 12

Ian Clute - Chautauqua Lake, 11

 

Second Team

Lucas Trombley - Pine Valley, 12

Austin Goerke - Maple Grove, 12

Dan O'Dell - Panama, 11

Colin Seamans - Franklinville, 11

Corey Wefing - Maple Grove, 11

Cody Thomas - Chautauqua Lake, 12

 

Honorable Mention

Chautauqua Lake:  A.J. Hulton

Forestville:  Caleb Makuch, Jake Nosbisch, Adam Pleva

Maple Grove:  Graham Soffel, Jeff Tampe

Pine Valley:  Spencer Sticek

Westfield:  Dylan MacCubbin, Dan Tofil

 

 

 

*****************************************************************

 

CCAA IV

Player of the Year:

Dan Lictus - Clymer, 12

 

First Team

Jordan Patterson - Brocton, 12

Andrew Graham - Sherman, 11

Jared Keppel - North Collins, 12

Dan Ferguson - Brocton, 12

Ryan Robson - Sherman, 11

 

Second Team

Mitchell Einink - Clymer, 11

Devin Morehead - Sherman, 11

Colton Myers - West Valley, 12

Jacob Wiggers - Clymer, 11

Alex Steinbroner - Ellicottville, 12

Mike Grigsby - West Valley, 12

 

Honorable Mention

Brocton:  Aaron Riforgiato - 12, Macalum Buchanon - 11

Sherman:  Jake Card - 10

North Collins:  Todd Youngman - 12, Jordan Keough - 12

Ellicottville:  Cam Wilson - 12, Phalla Musall - 10

Clymer:  Garrett McAfoose - 11

Ripley:  Eric Horstman - 12

 

********************************************************************

 

Charter Schools

Player of the Year:

Gerald Bibbs - Oracle Charter, 12

 

First Team

Gerald Bibbs - Oracle, 12

Jamarr Cunningham - Oracle, 12

Julius Allen - Oracle, 12

Tom Lucas - Tapestry, 12

Allen Wright Jr. - Health Sciences, 11

 

Second Team

Eric Waters - Oracle, 12

Jon Spears - Tapestry, 12

Tyree Coble - Maritime, 10

Warren Mostiller - Maritime, 12

Randy Golda - Global Concepts, 10

 

Honorable Mention

Antoine Gulledge - Oracle, 11

Brandon McCants - Buffalo Science, 12

Aaron Day - Health Sciences, 11

Carl Goodwin - Health Sciences, 11

JaQuoine Fogan - Tapestry, 9

 

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

 

Who should make the All-Centercourt teams?

 

In about three weeks, the 3rd Annual All-Centercourt team will be announced, honoring the top 60 seasons turned in by high school players this year.  The selections are broken down into a first, second, third, fourth, & fifth team, with five players on each, along with 35 honorable mention selections.  There are also both Player & Coach of the Year selections.

 

The top 60 may sound like a lot, but when you start putting names down on paper, the list fills quickly and inevitably some very good players get left off the list.  The main criteria I focus on is the 2012-2013 season, not what you did in the past, and not where you're going in the future...it's all about honoring the top 60 from this season.

 

Use the comments section below to tell us what your teams would look like and maybe even why.  If you're really ambitious, try coming up with the entire team including the HM selections.

 

Please keep all commentary appropriate when discussing high school athletes, and remember, it is lame to say someone does not belong on a team, without offering up who should be on one.

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

Jamestown win highlights Championship Saturday

 

Section VI Class AA Final

Jamestown 46, Niagara Falls 39

Losing three of the last four Class AA finals played against Niagara Falls seemed to have Jamestown on the defensive, which was not good news for the Wolverines.  The Red Raiders used a 2-3 zone against Niagara Falls and held the defending Class AA champs under 40 points, to win their third sectional title in the last four seasons.

 

Falls got off to a hot start against the zone and knocked down five of seven attempts from downtown in the opening quarter, including three straight to end the stanza on a 9-0 run to take an early 15-11 lead.  However, Jamestown stuck with its plan and became much more active in the zone for the remainder of the game. The top of the zone came out farther to contest perimeter shots, made possible from the interior effort of the Jamestown bigs.  Quinn Lee Yaw, Branden Kellam, Steve Carlson, and Jacob McBride were simply outstanding and kept the ball from even entering the post on many Falls possesions throughout the title game.

 

Trailing by three in the second quarter, the Red Raiders went on a 9-1 run to end the half, with seven of those points coming from Tommy Campion, to take a 25-20 lead that they would never relinquish.  Jamestown held Falls to just five points in the second quarter and 24 points over the final three quarters.  The Wolverines had closed the gap to three entering the fourth quarter, but Jamestown opened the final stanza on a 6-2 run to go back up by eight points. The Wolverines were held to a single field goal in the fourth quarter until Jermaine Crumpton dropped a '3' with nine seconds left in the game.

 

Kellam and Campion each finished the game with 13 points, while Zack Panebianco  scored 12 points in the win.

Crumpton ended his high school career with a game-high 15 points for Niagara Falls.

 

Section VI Class A1 Final

McKinley 63, Hutch-Tech 55

 The Macks won back-to-back Class A1 titles and their fifth in seven years, surviving a late-game rally from Hutch-Tech to sweep the Engineers in a third meeting between the schools this season.  Four McKinley players finished in double figures, led by 14 points from Marcus Morris.  Daequan Warren scored 13 points, Lovell Smith netted 12 points, and Reyzjon Jordan added 10 points.

Jovohn Owens led Hutch-Tech with 17 points.

 

Section VI Class A2 Final

Amherst 62, Iroquois 41

 After falling in the final last season, the Tigers broke through this year in grand fashion, winning their first Section VI championship since 2005.  Amherst steadily built upon its lead as the game progressed, led by 19 points from do-it-all senior guard, Johnny Belton.  Dion Lewis had his shot working as well, and finished with 13 points.

Amherst will play  McKinley at Buffalo State on Tuesday night at 8:45 pm, for the right to represent the section in the Class A regional on Saturday.

Phil Bowen scored 17 points for the Chiefs, and Nate Wilkinson added 12 points in defeat.

 

Section VI Class B1 Final 

Olean 82, Lackawanna 68

 The Huskies cleared their first hurdle in a quest for a state title by winning it all in Class B1 of Section VI for the sixth time in seven years.  Next, they'll look to advance to the regionals on Saturday if they can get past East on Tuesday.  

Three Olean staters, along with its sixth man, finished in double figures, during a fast-paced, high intensity game. Midway through the fourth quarter, Olean standout center Sam Eckstrom fouled out, but instead of a late-game collapse, the Huskies inceased their lead and put the game away. 

Eckstrom finished with a game-high 21 points, Max Portlow and Wil Bathurst scored 19 points apiece, and Nick Schmidt added 12 points.

Ahmad Abdo led the Steelers with 18 points, Shaquille Brooks and Damone Sylvers each netted 13 points, and Cam Smith ended with 12 points.

 

Section VI Class B2 Final

East 65, Fredonia 56

 For the fifth time in seven seasons, East High is celebreting a Section VI title. Last year, the Panthers fell in the Class B1 final to eventual state finalist Olean.  After dropping down in classification to a B2 this year, East will cut the celebration short and focus on beating Olean in the  rematch it earned by winning the B2 sectional. The Panthers will face the Huskies at Buffalo State on Tuesday at 7:15 pm for the right to advance to the Far West Regionals in Class B.

Johnathan Lewis scored 22 points, Jonathan Kinley scored 19 points, and Percy Bryant & Tyree Tyson each added 10 points in the win over the Hillbillies.

Sophomore John Piper led Fredonia with 15 points, while Dylan Meyer scored 12 points, and Nick Johnston chipped in 11 points.

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

Five teams advance to sectional finals

 

Class A2

Amherst 68, South Park 52

The Tigers jumped out to an early 11-2 lead, but soon found themselves in a battle.  The Sparks came roaring back in the second quarter and took a three-point lead, before Alex Turecki canned the last four points of the half to give Amherst a 23-22 lead at the break. 

Amherst blew the doors off the Buffalo State Sports Arena in the third, outscoring South Park 26-10, and never looking back, as they reserved a place in the Class A2 final for a second straight season.  Turecki and Steven Reynolds each scored a team-high 17 points for the Tigers, while Johnny Belton finished with 15 points.

Tyrell Mitchell finished his high school career with a game-high 23 points to lead South Park.

 

Iroquois 58, Lew-Port 48

Nate Wilkinson scored a game-high 24 points, while point guard Phil Bowen had an excellent all-around game and netted 18 points for the Chiefs, who advanced to the Class A2 final against Amherst on Saturday.  Iroquois trailed after one quarter, but took an eight-point lead to intermission after finishing the first half on an 8-0 run.  Though the Chiefs never trailed in the second half, the Lancers did tie things up in the third and were as close as four points in the last quarter, before the Chiefs pulled away.

Nick Mansour scored a team-high 22 points for Lew-Port in the loss.

 

Class B2

East  50, Cleveland Hill 45

After falling behind, 11-0, to begin the game, the Panthers made adjustments and got right back into the game, before pulling ahead in the third quarter after holding the Eagles to just six points.  East took a seven-point lead into the final stanza and never allowed the Eagles to get closer than four points the rest of the way.  Panther big man Tyree Tyson was the biggest factor in the game, leading his team with 20 points, grabbing numerous rebounds, and drastically altering what the Eagles could do near the basket.  Johnathan Lewis scored 11 points for East, while Percy Bryant added 10 points.

Sophomore Jermaine Hairston had 13 points while senior Richard Sotero had 11 points for Cleveland Hill, who fell in the Class B2 semifinals for a third straight season after running the table in ECIC IV.

 

Class C2

Silver Creek 75, MST Seneca 49

Sophomore Bill Brooks scored 24 points, ripped 18 boards, and swatted seven shots, as Silver Creek raced past MST Seneca.  The Black Knights remain the lone undefeated team from WNY and earned a second straight trip to the Class C2 title game, along with a third contest against CCAA II counterpart, Portville. Last season, Silver Creek needed a '3' to force overtime, and eventually ended Portville's season in a second OT of the Class C2 semifinals.  Although Maple Grove was regarded as the toughest path to a sectional title, Silver Creek head coach Rob Genco has stated all season that it was Portville who most concerned him, and they were a team he had hoped to avoid for a third time.

WNY's top stat stuffer, Zed Williams, finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds,  & 11 assists.  Stephen Marcey scored 16 points and dropped four 3-pointers, while sophomore Brennan White added 11 points in the win.

 

Portville 67, Maple Grove 39

Zach Blask scored 20 points to reach 1,000 for his career, as the Panthers dismantled Maple Grove and snapped its 17-game win streak into pieces.  At times, Blask single-handedly broke the Red Dragons pressure, and did whatever was neccessary to facilitate the Portville offense.  Maple Grove's 39 points were just two more than its season low of 37, which Olean held them to in December.

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

Brackets Central - 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below are links to each bracket, along with some other postseason-related content from 2013:

 

Manhattan Cup 

Class AA

Class A1 

Class A2

Class B1

Class B2

Class C1

Class C2

Class D

 

McKinley brings a NYSPHAA Class A State Championship home to Buffalo

Macks to play for a Class A state title 

Silver Creek, Olean, & McKinley are on to regionals

Jamestown win highlights Championship Saturday

Crusaders to play for CHSAA State Championship

Three teams crowned at JCC

Jamestown & Falls advance to Class AA final

Class A1 & C1 title games are set

Five teams advance to sectional finals

Fredonia, Olean, & Lackawanna advance

Clarence punches its ticket for return to Buff State

Lancer win highlights MMA quarterfinals

Sectional Preview 

Who should make All-Centercourt?

2013 All-League Teams

 

-centercourt

CC Top 25 - Pre-Playoffs

Whether private or public, large or small, and regardless of the league you play in, here's my stab at ranking the Top 25 basketball teams from WNY in order, before they begin postseason play this week.  When the smoke clears and the champions have been crowned, there'll be a final top 25 to compare it to.

 

1. Olean (B1)

2. Canisius (MMA)

3. Niagara Falls (AA)

4. Jamestown (AA) 

5. St. Joe's (MMA) 

6. Williamsville North (AA) 

7. Silver Creek (C2)

8. Oracle Charter (C1)

9. McKinley (A1)

10. Clarence (AA)

11. Amherst (A2)

12. St. Mary's (MMA)

13. Middle College (C1)

14. East (B2)

15. Timon/St. Jude (MMA)

16. Nichols (MMA)

17. Maple Grove (C2)

18. Cleveland Hill (B2)

19. Williamsville South (A1)

20. Sweet Home (A1)

21. Kenmore West (AA)

22. Lackawanna (B1)

23. CSAT (B2)

24. Hutch-Tech (A1)

25. Iroquois (A2)

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

 

Sectional Preview - 2013

 

The Section VI postseason begins tonight with first round games, and the winners move on to participate in the pre-quarterfinal games played on Wednesday.  Friday night is when the action really kicks up, as 32 quarterfinal games will decide which teams move on to Buffalo State and JCC for the semifinals. 

 

Below I take a look at some of the best matchups we could potentially see in the pre-quarterfinals, quarterfinals, semifinals, and even the championship games.  There's also my thoughts on the biggest favorite and the most competitive brackets, along with some winning streaks and predictions.

 

Top 6 Pre-Quarterfinal Games (Wed. 2/20)

6. Class A2 Starpoint vs. Riverside ** At McKinley

5. Class B1 Tonawanda vs. Burgard ** At MST Seneca

4. Class B2 City Honors vs. Emerson ** At Hutch-Tech

3. Class B1 Alden vs. Lafayette ** At McKinley

2. Class C1 Allegany-Limestone @ Salamanca

1. Class AA Lancaster @ North Tonawanda

 

Top 6 Quarterfinal Games (Fri. 2/22)

6. Class B2 Roy-Hart @ Cleveland Hill

5. Class B2 Akron @ Fredonia

4. Class AA Kenmore West @ Williamsville North

3. Class AA Lockport @ Clarence

2. Class B1 Newfane @ Maryvale

1. Class B1 Depew @ Lackawanna 

 

Most likely Quarterfinal upsets

Class A1

(5) Hutch-Tech @ (4) Hamburg - It seems like every season, the Engineers are a tough large school that finishes behind the elite large schools of the Yale Cup, ending up with a lower seed and a road game in the quarterfinals, before advancing to Buffalo State for the semifinals.  Why sould this year be any exception?

Class A2

(7) Cheektowaga @ (2) Iroquois - The Chiefs biggest obstacle to reaching the Class A2 final might occur before they even reach Buffalo State. Cheektowaga benefits from playing in ECIC III, where they've faced teams similar to Iroquois all season.  I like the Chiefs to pull it out and grace us with their presence on the big stage, but don't be surprised if the Warriors find their way back to Buffalo State, where they seem to wind up year after year.

(5) Lake Shore @ (4) South Park - It's a shame that the seedings fell in a way that these two must face each other now, rather than in the semifinals.  Instead, Lew-Port is a three seed and hosting a quarterfinal.  Both schools bounced back nicely from a series of down years to make some noise on the hoops scene.  Both schools also have a player that can fill it up - Tyrell Mitchell for the Sparks and Clark Brueckl for the Eagles.

(6) Pioneer @ (3) Lew-Port - The Panthers boast a large lineup that could present a problem for the Lancers.  Lew-Port is coming off an 11-point loss to Grand Island.

Class C1

(5) Tapestry Charter @ (4) Randolph -  Both teams have faced the best in Class C this season and are battle tested.  Tapestry has the ability to go into Randolph and steal the win, as evidenced by road wins this season against MST Seneca and Roy-Hart.

(6) Barker @ (3) Holland - A battle between teams led by talented underclassmen, sophomore Clay Lewis for the Dutchmen and junior Jake Haight for the Raiders.  Holland ended the year on a three-game skid with lopsided losses to Lackawanna, Cleveland Hill, and MST Seneca, so its confidence may not be where it needs to be for the postseason.  Conversely, Barker won three of its last five, and the two losses were a five-point decision to CSAT and a one-point heartbreaker to Roy-Hart.

 

Biggest Favorites to win a Sectional

3. Class A1 - McKinley

2. Class A2 - Amherst

1. Class B1 - Olean

 

Most likely to avance to Glens Falls

Class B - Olean

 

Best Brackets top-to-bottom

Class AA & Class B2

 

Most exciting potential semifinal matchups

4. Class A1 - Williamsville South vs. McKinley

3. Class AA - Clarence vs. Jamestown

2. Class AA - Williamsville North vs. Niagara Falls

1. Class B2 - East vs. Cleveland Hill

 

Most exciting potential championship matchups

Class D - Brocton vs. Sherman

Class C2 - Maple Grove vs. Silver Creek

Class C1 - Oracle Charter vs. Middle College

Class AA -  Niagara Falls vs. Jamestown

 

Winning Streaks heading into Sectionals

Class C2  Silver Creek - 18 games

Class C1 Oracle Charter - 17 games

Class C2 Maple Grove - 16 games

Class A2 Amherst - 16 games

Class B2 CSAT - 13 games

Class D Brocton - 11 games

Class B1 Olean - 10 games (Huskies have won 35 straight vs. public schools)

 

Predictions

Class AA - Niagara Falls

Class A1 - McKinley

Class A2 - Amherst

Class B1 - Olean

Class B2 - East

Class C1 - Oracle Charter

Class C2 - Silver Creek

Class D - Sherman

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

Class A1 & A2 Brackets - 2013 Sectionals

CLASS A1

Pre-Quarterfinals - Wednesday, February 20th

(9) Kenmore East 47, (8) West Seneca East 46

 

Quarterfinals - Friday, February 22nd

(1) Sweet Home 58, (9) Kenmore East 44

(5) Hutch-Tech 59, (4) Hamburg 38

 

(2) McKinley 96, (7) Grand Island 52

(3) Williamsville South 70, (6) Williamsville East 69 

 

Semifinals - Wednesday, February 27th

AT BUFFALO STATE - 6 pm & 7:45 pm

(5) Hutch-Tech 67,  (1) Sweet Home  47

(2) McKinley 77, (3) Williamsville South 46

 

Final - Saturday, March 2nd

AT BUFFALO STATE - 6 pm

 (2) McKinley 63,  (5) Hutch-Tech 55

 

2013 Section VI Class A1 Champions - McKinley Macks

 

************************************************

 

CLASS A2

Pre-Quarterfinals - Wednesday, February 20th

 (8) Riverside 62,  (9) Starpoint 46

 

 Quarterfinals - Friday, February 22nd

(1) Amherst 53, (8) Riverside 39

(4) South Park 68, (5) Lake Shore 58

 

(2) Iroquois 73, (7) Cheektowaga 69

(3) Lew-Port 54, (6) Pioneer 51

 

Semifinals - Tuesday, February 26th

AT BUFFALO STATE - 7:15 pm & 8:45 pm

 (1) Amherst 68, (4) South Park 52

(2) Iroquois 58, (3) Lew-Port 48

 

Final - Saturday, March 2nd

AT BUFFALO STATE - 3:30 pm

 (1) Amherst 62, (2) Iroquois 41

 

2013 Section VI Class A2 Champions - Amherst Tigers

 

*******************************************

 

Overall Class A Championship

Tuesday, March 5th

AT BUFFALO STATE - 8:45 pm

(A1) McKinley 64, (A2) Amherst 61

 

Overall 2013 Section VI Class A Champion - McKinley Macks

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

Selection Tuesday - Ranking every team in Section VI

The most commonly asked question right now is "where can I find the brackets?"   Unfortunately, the answer continues to be...they're not ready yet.

 

Most coaches have a very good idea of which team or teams they are likely to draw, depending on how the last week plays out, and in turn their players and immediate fans of that team also know where the team they follow stands.  But I'm sensing that WNY basketball fans want to see where every team stands, so I took this route instead...Ranking every team in Section VI, by class.

 

** Please note these are not seedings and do not reflect actual power points.  This is simply how I rank the teams heading into sectionals, or, where I'd seed them if I ruled the world (the WNY basketball world).  It's not a prediction of how I think the seedings will end up.

 

Class AA

1. Niagara Falls

2. Jamestown

3. Williamsville North

4. Clarence

5. Kenmore West

6. Frontier

7. Lockport

8. North Tonawanda

9. Lancaster

10. Niagara Wheatfield

11. West Seneca West

12. Orchard Park

 

Class A1

1. McKinley

2. Williamsville South

3. Sweet Home

4. Hutch-Tech

5. Hamburg

6. Williamsville East

7. Grand Island

8. West Seneca East

9. Kenmore East

 

Class A2

1. Amherst

2. Iroquois

3. South Park

4. Cheektowaga

5. Lake Shore

6. Pioneer

7. Starpoint

8. Lew-Port

9. Riverside

 

Class B1

1. Olean

2. Lackawanna

3. Depew

4. Maryvale

5. Newfane

6. East Aurora

7. Lafayette

8. Burgard

9. Tonawanda

10. Bennett

11. Alden

12. Dunkirk

13. Albion

14. Eden

15. Springville

 

Class B2

1. East

2. Cleveland Hill

3. CSAT

4. Fredonia

5. Roy-Hart

6. Akron

7. City Honors

8. Emerson

9. Southwestern

10. Medina

11. Buffalo Arts

12. JFK

13. Wilson

14. Gowanda

15. Falconer

 

Class C1

1. Oracle Charter

2. Middle College

3. Holland

4. Randolph

5. Salamanca

6. Barker

7. Tapestry Charter

8. Allegany-Limestone

9. Cassadaga Valley

10. Maritime Charter

11. Cattaraugus Little Valley

12. Da Vinci

 

Class C2

1. Silver Creek

2. Maple Grove

3. Portville 

4. MST Seneca

5. I-Prep

6. Olmsted

7. Westfield

8. Frewsburg

9. Chautauqua Lake

10. Health Sciences

11. Franklinville

12. Buffalo Science

 

Class D

1. Brocton

2. Sherman

3. Clymer

4. North Collins

5. Pine Valley

6. Forestville

7. Panama

8. Ellicottville

9. West Valley

10. Ripley

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

 

Top games of the week ending 2/17/13

Here's a list of what I think are the top games to follow this week:

 

Monday, February 11th

Lafayette @ City Honors - 6 pm

Lockport @ Niagara Falls - 6:30 pm

 

Tuesday, February 12th

Hutch-Tech @ McKinley - 6 pm

Akron @ CSAT - 6:30 pm

South Park @ Middle College - 7 pm

Aquinas @ Timon/St. Jude - 7 pm

Lake Shore @ Maryvale - 7:30 pm

Iroquois @ Williamsville South - 7:30 pm

Depew @ Amherst - 7:30 pm

St. Joe's @ Frontier - 7:30 pm

 

Wednesday, February 13th

Hutch-Tech @ East - 6 pm

 

Thursday, February 14th

Middle College @ East - 6 pm

Timon/St. Jude @ Canisius - 6:30 pm

CSAT @ Roy-Hart - 6:30 pm

Newfane @ Wilson - 6:30 pm

Holland @ MST Seneca - 6:30 pm

Sweet Home @ St. Joe's - 7 pm

Westfield @ Maple Grove - 7:30 pm

Williamsville North @ Williamsville East - 7:30 pm

 

Friday, February 15th

Nichols @ St. Mary's - 7:30 pm

 

Saturday, February 16th

Canisius vs. St. Joe's - 2 pm  ** at the Koessler Center

 

Game of the Week - Canisius vs. St. Joe's on Saturday, February 16th

- Since I've been following high school basketball in WNY, I have yet to see a team finish unbeaten against MMA competition.  If the Crusaders can take care of business at home against Timon this week, they would have a chance to finish off an undefeated regular season with a victory versus their rivals.

In the first meeting between the two teams this season, Canisius was in control the entire second half and came away with a 77-65 win.  The Marauders' backcourt tandem of Jordan Glover and Jaylen Morris  might be more anxious than everyone else for the rematch. The pair were forced to the bench during the first half of round one after a collision left both of them dazed.

Canisius is currently the top ranked large school in WNY, while the Marauders are ranked fourth.  Neither team has lost to an opponent from WNY since the first rivalry battle in January.  On the season, the only WNY team Canisius has fallen to was Olean, while Jamestown, along with the Crusaders, are the only WNY teams to down St. Joe's on the season.

A lot will be on the line on Saturday, possibly including an unbeaten regular season in the MMA, whether or not a coin toss will decide the top seed for the Manhattan Cup playoffs, and most importantly, pride and bragging rights.  The last time Canisius swept the Marauders was in 2010, before winning the first of its back-to-back Manhattan Cups. 

Despite moving this rivalry to a larger venue in the Koessler Center, it still sold out on January 12th.  Get there and get there early.  You won't find a better atmosphere for a MMA game, unless there's a round three...

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

 

 

 

Top games of the week ending 1/20/13

Here's a list of what I think are the top games this week:

 

Monday, January 14th

Sherman @ Clymer - 7:30 pm

 

Tuesday, January 15th

MST Seneca @ Olmsted - 6 pm

Akron @ Newfane - 6:30 pm

Hutch-Tech @ Middle College - 7 pm

Sweet Home @ Williamsville South - 7 pm

Lake Shore @ Depew - 7:30 pm

Randolph @ Frewsburg - 7:30 pm

Cassadaga Valley @ Portville - 7:30 pm

 

Wednesday, January 16th

Oracle Charter @ City Honors - 6 pm

Batavia @ Timon/St. Jude - 7 pm

 

Thursday, January 17th

Middle College @ McKinley - 6 pm

Williamsville South @ Iroquois - 6:30 pm

Maryvale @ Lake Shore - 6:30 pm

Canisius @ Aquinas - 7:30 pm

Cheektowaga @ East Aurora - 7:30 pm

Maple Grove @ Westfield - 7:30 pm

Lancaster @ Clarence - 7:30 pm

Bishop Kearney @ St. Joe's - 8 pm

 

Friday, January 18th

CSAT @ Akron - 6:30 pm

Randolph @ Salamanca - 7:30 pm

Nichols @ Frontier - 7:30 pm

 

Saturday, January 19th

Cheektowaga @ Hutch-Tech - 4 pm

 

MLK CLASSIC @ City Honors HS 

Session I

City Honors vs. Lackawanna - 11 am

East vs. East Aurora - 12:45 pm

 Session II

Middle College vs. Sweet Home - 4 pm

McKinley vs. Canisius - 5:45 pm

 

Sunday, January 20th

 Irondequoit Tournament

Jamestown vs. Edison Tech - 4:30 pm

Eastridge @ Irondequoit - 6:30 pm

 

Game of the Week - Canisius vs. McKinley on Saturday, January 19th

- Last season at the MLK Classic, these two squared off in the headliner and  Canisius won, 76-65.  The Crusaders went on to win the Manhattan Cup, while the Macks claimed another Class A1 crown.  Both teams brought back most of their key players from a year ago.

As of right now, Canisius is the second-ranked large school, while McKinley sits at number four.  The Macks own a pair of wins versus top ten schools in Timon and Clarence.  The only top ten large school Canisius has faced at this point is St. Joe's, who they defeated on Saturday.  The Macks lone loss this year came at the hands of the Marauders, when a shot went in at the buzzer.

 

 

-centercourt

@centercourt42

 

Holiday Tournament Schedule

Depew Tournament

Dec. 27th

St. Mary's vs. City Honors - 6 pm

Depew vs. Lancaster - 7:30 pm

Dec. 29th

Consolation game - 3:30 pm

Championship game - 5 pm

 

Williamsville Jolly Boys Tournament

Dec. 27th

Amherst vs. Newfane - 6 pm

Williamsville South vs. St. Francis - 7:30 pm

Dec. 28th

Consolation game - 6 pm

Championship game - 7:30 pm

 

Clarence Tournament

Dec. 27th

Fredonia vs. Bennett - 5 pm

Clarence vs. Iroquois - 6:30 pm

Dec. 28th

Consolation game - 5 pm

Championship game - 6:30 pm

 

Five Guys Williamsville North Tournament

Dec. 26th

Williamsville East vs. Park - 6 pm

Williamsville North vs. Holland - 7:30 pm

Dec. 27th

Consolation game - 6 pm

Championship game - 7:30 pm

 

East Aurora Invitational

Dec. 27th

CSAT vs. Hutch-Tech - 5:30 pm

East Aurora vs. Pioneer - 7 pm

Dec. 28th

Consolation game - 5:30 pm

Championship game - 7 pm

 

Maryvale Tournament

Dec. 27th

Cleveland Hill vs. Hamburg - 5:30 pm

Maryvale vs. Akron - 7 pm

Dec. 28th

Consolation game - 4:30 pm

Championship game - 6 pm

 

Pendleton Lions Tournament at Starpoint

Dec. 27th

Niagara Catholic vs. Lockport - 5 pm

Starpoint vs. Medina - 6:30 pm

Dec. 28th

Consolation game - 5 pm

Championship game - 6:30 pm

 

St. Joe's Tournament

Dec. 27th

Riverside vs. Cheektowaga - 6 pm

St. Joe's vs. I-Prep - 7:30 pm

Dec. 28th 

Consolation game - 5:30 pm

Championship game - 7:15 pm

 

Southwestern Classic

Dec. 29th

Salamanca vs. Sherman - 6 pm

Southwestern vs. Chautauqua Lake - 7:30 pm

Dec. 30th

Consolation game - 6 pm

Championship game - 7:30 pm

 

Cassadaga Valley Tournament

Dec. 27th

Clymer vs. Oracle Charter - 6 pm

Cassadaga Valley vs. Westfield - 7:30 pm

Dec. 28th

Consolation game - 6 pm

Championship game - 7:30 pm

 

IAABO Tournament @ St. Bonaventure

Dec. 27th

BRACKET ONE

Randolph vs. Archbishop Walsh - 2:30 pm

Portville vs. Allegany-Limestone - 4:15 pm

BRACKET TWO

Nichols vs. Warren PA - 6 pm

Olean vs. Bradford PA - 7:45 pm

Dec. 28th

Consolation game - 2:30 pm

Consolation game - 4:15 pm

Championship game - 6 pm

Championship game - 7:45 pm

 

Emerling Ford Tournament @ Springville

Dec. 27th

South Park vs. Gowanda - 4:30 pm

Springville vs. West Valley - 6 pm

Dec. 29th 

Consolation game - 1:30 pm

Championship game - 6 pm

 

West Seneca Tournament at West Seneca East

Dec. 27th

Tonawanda vs. Buffalo Science - 4:30 pm

West Seneca West vs. West Seneca East - 6 pm

Dec. 28th 

Consolation game - 4:30 pm

Championship game - 6 pm

 

Ken-Ton Tournament at Kenmore East

Dec. 27th

Kenmore West vs. Sweet Home - 5 pm

Kenmore East vs. Cardinal O'Hara - 6:30pm

Dec. 28th

Consolation game - 5 pm

Championship game - 6:30 pm 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

 

-centercourt

 

 

 

Pastor-Cooper Memorial Showcase at Daemen College

For over 25 years, the high school basketball season in WNY has begun with a prestigious memorial event.  It began as a remembrance of Al and Rose Pastor.  The Al and Rose Pastor Memorial Tournament as it was formerly named, recently became the Pastor-Cooper Memorial Tournament, as a tribute to the life of  Jerry Cooper as well.  Last year, the event's format changed to a three-night showcase as a way to continue a tradition, while accomodating NYSPHSAA teams that saw their nonleague schedules reduced by two games.

 

Sadly, this year's Pastor-Cooper Showcase will be honoring another member of the family.  The event's organizer and chairman, David Cooper, died unexpectedy on August 9th at the age of 43.  He was committed to, and succeeded in, putting on a first-class event that always included some of the areas top programs.  The final event that Cooper organized will be no exception, as once again, a stellar lineup of games is set to unfold over the course of three nights at Daemen College.  

 

As always, the lineup is full of teams that finished the prior season in the Buffalo News large & small school polls.  However, this year, there seems to be even more compelling storylines and matchups than normal, including a game with potential playoff and league title implications.

 

This year, we'll see Kenmore bragging rights on the line with Kenmore West taking on St. Joe's.   A pair of top-ten small schools will face off when East battles St. Mary's.  Last year's Class A1 champion, McKinley, will matchup with Bishop Timon/St. Jude for the first time in several years.  There will even be an appearance from David Cooper's alma mater, Williamsville East, as the Flames take on Class C state finalist, OTC/MEC.  The most significant game will take place between a pair of ECIC III schools.  Depew and Amherst have agreed to play a league game at the showcase.  Head coaches Larry Jones and Chris Kensy found a creative way to accept the invitation to the showcase without losing one of four precious nonleague games.  The coaches agreed to a coin toss to determine which school would lose its home game.  Amherst won the toss, meaning Depew will be considered the home team at the event.

 

Tuesday, December 4th

Girls 5:15 pm - Holy Angels vs. Olmsted 

Boys 7:00 pm - St. Joe's vs. Kenmore West

Boys 8:30 pm - Hutch-Tech vs. Cardinal O'Hara

 

Wednesday, December 5th

Girls 5:15 pm - Sacred Heart vs. Iroquois

Boys 7:00 pm - Williamsville East vs. OTC/MEC

Boys 8:30 pm - Amherst vs. Depew

 

Thursday, December 6th

Girls 5:15 pm - Grand Island vs. Cardinal O'Hara

Boys 7:00 pm - East vs. St. Mary's

Boys 8:30 pm - McKinley vs. Bishop Timon/St. Jude

 

-centercourt

Classifications for 2013 Season

 

Class AA                                                                      Class D                                                         

Lancaster                                                                         Panama                                                 

Niagara Falls                                                                  Pine Valley                                          

Lockport                                                                          Forestville

Clarence                                                                           Ellicottville

Frontier                                                                            North Collins

Orchard Park                                                                 Brocton

Jamestown                                                                      Sherman

Kenmore West                                                              Clymer

West Seneca West                                                       West Valley

Williamsville North                                                    Ripley

Niagara Wheatfield

 

Class A1                                                                       Class A2

North Tonawanda                                                       West Seneca East

Hamburg                                                                          Starpoint

Sweet Home                                                                    Iroquois

Williamsville East                                                        Riverside

McKinley                                                                         Lake Shore

Kenmore East                                                                South Park

Hutch-Tech                                                                    Amherst

Grand Island                                                                  Pioneer

Williamsville South                                                    Cheektowaga

                                                                                             Lew-Port

 

Class B1                                                                        Class B2

Bennett                                                                             Medina

Maryvale                                                                         Buffalo Arts

Albion                                                                               Buffalo East 

Springville                                                                      Fredonia

East Aurora                                                                   Roy-Hart

Olean                                                                                JFK

Dunkirk                                                                          City Honors

Burgard                                                                          Akron

Depew                                                                             CSAT

Lafayette                                                                       Cleveland Hilll

Alden                                                                               Southwestern

Newfane                                                                        Wilson

Tonawanda                                                                  Emerson

Eden                                                                                Gowanda

Lackawanna                                                                 Falconer

 

Class C1                                                                        Class C2

Salamanca                                                                     Silver Creek

Leonardo da Vinci                                                     Portville

Allegany-Limestone                                                 Buffalo Science

OTC/MEC                                                                    Health Sciences

Cassadaga Valley                                                      MST Prep Seneca

Oracle Charter                                                            I-Prep Grover

Barker                                                                            Frewsburg

Martime Charter                                                      Westfield

Tapestry Charter                                                     Maple Grove

Holland                                                                        Chautauqua Lake

Randolph                                                                    Olmsted

Cattaraugus/Little Valley                                    Franklinville

 

 -centercourt

Buffalo Storm Summer Tip-off Team Camp

The 2012 Buffalo Storm Tip-off Summer Team Camp will take place on Friday, June 22nd & Saturday, June 23rd.  The camp, which is presented by Niagara Wheatfield head coach Erik O'Bryan and Damen Associate head coach Mike Miranto, will have games played at three different sites on each day: Daemen College, Park School, and Sweet Home High School.  Games will begin on Friday at 4:30 pm and on Saturday at 8 am.  A one time admission of just $5 is good for any and all games during the two-day event.

 

The camp's format guarantees each team at least three games.  A total of 24 schools will participate, with each school placed in a four-team pool:

 

Pool A - Niagara Falls, St. Joe's, Olean, & Amherst

Pool B - Canisius, Jamestown, McKinley, & Kenmore West

 

Pool C - St. Mary's, Williamsville North, Batavia, & Newfane

Pool D - Depew, Williamsville South, Clarence, & Sweet Home

 

Pool E - Niagara Wheatfield, Wilson, Tonawanda, & Iroquois

Pool F - Grand Island, Maryvale, North Tonawanda, & Park

 

** A champion will emerge from each pool and then face the champion from the pool it's paired against (A vs. B, C vs. D, E vs. F), meaning there will be three overall champions crowned.

 

Some of the marquee matchups that are guaranteed to take place include:

 

Friday @ Daemen

5:45 pm - Niagara Falls vs. Olean

7:00 pm - Jamestown vs. Canisius

 

Saturday @ Daemen

2:15 pm - McKinley vs. Jamestown

 

Saturday @ Park High School

11:45 am - Niagara Falls vs. St. Joe's

2:15 pm - Olean vs. St. Joe's

 

Saturday @ Sweet Home

10:30 am - Canisius vs. McKinley

 

-centercourt

 

PAL/ACE All-Star Game rosters

Below are the rosters for tomorrow's PAL/ACE All-Star games at Niagara Falls High School.  There will be two games played, beginning at 6 pm, with the second to follow immediately after, around 7:15 pm.  The first game will consist of varsity level players that are current sophomores or younger, while the feature game is between juniors & seniors.  Admission for the evening is $5, with all proceeds going to PAL youth activities.

 

GAME 1 - Sophomores & Younger:

                                                                                                               West Coach: Carlos Bradberry, NFHS

East Coach: Ryan Hogan, Kenmore West

                                                                                                                  Cam Lewis - Nichols

Sam Eckstrom - Olean                                                                    Howard Washington - City Honors

Alex Price - Kenmore West                                                          Brendan Cox - East Aurora

Vinzell Watkins - Niagara Falls                                                   Wil Bathurst - Olean

Bri'an Brown - OTC/MEC                                                              Adam Fron - Kenmore West

Quinn Carey - Grand Island                                                          Willie Smith - Riverside

Phillip Bowen - Iroquois                                                                 Derrick Sekuterski - Depew

Moziah Townsend - Lockport                                                      Donte Williams - Timon

Tyler English - St. Marys                                                               Ryan Lawrence - Lockport

Ryan Ross - Grand Island                                                              Kevin Reese - OTC/MEC

Tyler Grandits - Kenmore West

 

 

GAME 2 - Juniors & Seniors

North Coach: Nate Beutel, Grand Island                               South Coach - Erik O'Bryan, NW

Jayson Moore - Sweet Home                                                       Aaron White  -Canisius

Jermaine Crumpton - NFHS                                                        Quinton Campbell - Kenmore West

Taijay Williams - NFHS                                                                 Matt Hart - Canisius

Adam Weir - Canisius                                                                     Cordell Torres - OTC/MEC

Jack Mulcahy - Niagara Wheatfield                                         Matt MacDonald - Canisius

Erik Simmons - St. Mary's                                                            Lovell Smith -McKinley                

Fulton Bryant - Timon                                                                   Justice Feggans - Riverside

Joe Lowery - Niagara Catholic                                                   Jordan Glover - St. Joe's

Aaron Frazier - MST Seneca                                                       Martin Bailey - Kenmore West

Ramir Burton - NFHS                                                                     Jamaal Carter - City Honors

 

 

-centercourt

2012 All-League Teams

 

 

Monsignor Martin Association

Player of the Year:

Reggie Agbeko - St. Joe's, 12

 

First Team

Matt Hart - Canisius, 12

Adam Weir - Canisius, 11

Ryan Whelpley - Archbishop Walsh, 12

Jordan Williams - Timon, 12

Kyle Kobis - Timon, 12

Erik Simmons - St. Mary's, 12

 

Second Team

Devin Redden - St. Mary's, 12

Joe Lowery - Niagara Catholic, 12

DeMilo Gibbs - Timon, 12

Jake Denz - St. Mary's, 12

Matt MacDonald - Canisius, 11

 

 

************************************************************************** 

 

YALE CUP I

Player of the Year:

Reyszon Jordan - McKinley, 11

 

First Team

Justice Feggans - Riverside, 11

Marcus Morris - McKinley, 11

Marcus Nelson - Hutch-Tech, 12

Lamont Little - Riverside, 12

Lovell Smith - McKinley, 11

 

Second Team

Denzell Washington - Hutch-Tech, 12

Tim Whitehead - Hutch-Tech, 12

Daquawn Griggs - East, 12

Mike Leonard - Riverside, 12

Daequan Warren - McKinley, 11

 

Third Team

Andrew Strug - Hutch-Tech, 12

Johnathan Lewis - East, 10

Mike Davis - McKinley, 12

Jon Colon - Lafayette, 11

Javon Fogan - Bennett, 12

 

Honorable Mention

East: Rashaan Brown - 12, Jayvon Vanoy - 12

Bennett: Ed Bishop - 12

Burgard: Justin Jennings - 12, Arzell Kaigler - 11

South Park: Zachary Kaczor - 10

Lafayette: Anthony Rodgers - 12

Hutch-Tech: Jovohn Owens - 11, Roman West - 10, Amanuel Radford - 10

Riverside: Willie Smith - 10, Walter Pryor - 10

McKinley: Deonte Bell - 11, Samuel Smith - 11

 

********************************************************************** 

 

YALE CUP II

Player of the Year:

Cordell Torres - OTC/MEC, 12

 

First Team

Aaron Frasier - MST Seneca, 12

Jamaal Carter - City Honors, 12

Maurice Cheatom - I-Prep, 12

Khalid Brown - OTC/MEC, 12

DeVonte Harper - OTC/MEC, 12

 

Second Team

Marquel Massey - City Honors, 12

Lenny Dowell - Emerson, 11

Bri'an Browm - OTC/MEC, 10

Devonte Witsett - I-Prep, 12

Kevin Reese - OTC/MEC, 10

 

Third Team

Jaleyn Pierson - MST Seneca, 12

Johnny Linton - Buffalo Arts, 12

Howard Washington - City Honors, 8

Keir Anderson - OTC/MEC, 11

Ameer Franklin - Emerson, 12

 

Honorable Mention

MST Seneca: Marquis Shaw - 12

City Honors: Matt Cieslik - 9

Buffalo Arts: Derek Simpson - 9

I-Prep: Duryll Anderson - 10

Emerson: Demetrius Hodge - 12

OTC/MEC: TJ Scott - 10

 

************************************************************************ 

 

ALL ECIC 

Player of the Year:

Stan Wier - East Aurora, 12

 

First Team

Sterling Taplin - Williamsville North, 10

Connor Keenan - Williamsville East, 12

Tommy Campion - Jamestown, 11

Jesse Lalka - Tonawanda, 12

Jordan Farrant - Holland, 12

 

**************************************************************************** 

 

ECIC I

Co-Players of the Year:

Sterling Taplin - Williamsville North, 10 & Tommy Campion - Jamestown, 11

 

First Team

Matt McCormick - Orchard Park, 12

Matt Taylor - Frontier, 12

Stephen Hughes - Clarence, 12

Alex Warren - Frontier, 12

Adam Cecchini - Jamestown, 12

 

Second Team

Kareem Walker - Jamestown, 12

Neal Farrell - Orchard Park, 12

Jayson Moore - Sweet Home, 12

Sean Murray - Lancaster, 11

Justin Bangert - Willaimsville North, 12

 

Honorable Mention

Williamsville North: David Berkun - 11

West Seneca West: Nick Clancy - 10

Clarence: Bryan Jost - 10

Frontier: Remington Heil - 12

Sweet Home: Rashaad Rogers - 12, Kole Gilchrist - 11

Lancaster: Danny Emma - 10

 

************************************************************************* 

 

ECIC II

Player of the Year:

Connor Keenan - Williamsville East, 12

 

First Team

Chaquiel Nettles - Williamsville South, 11

Nick Benningfield - Hamburg, 12

Michael Kyarunts - Williamsville East, 12

Nate Wilkinson - Iroquois, 12

 

Second Team

Madison Wesolowski - Iroquois, 12

Jim Caputi - Williamsville South, 12

Isaiah Kaudeyr - Williamsville East, XX

Damien Powers - Williamsville South, 11

Eric Moscato - Hamburg, 12

 

Honorable Mention

Lake Shore:  Carl Brueckl - XX, Tyler Mascio - XX, Wade Bergum - XX, Ryan Spears - XX

West Seneca East: Andy Smigera - XX, Alex Pacer - XX

Starpoint: Andrew Rankie - XX

Hamburg: Jeremiah Bill - XX, Kyle Violanti - XX

Iroquois: Ben Wutz - XX

 

************************************************************************** 

 

ECIC III

Player of the Year:

Stan Wier - East Aurora, 12

 

First Team

Jonathan Belton - Amherst, 11

Sean Weisansal - Maryvale, 11

Glenn Belton - Amherst, 12

Jonathon Gemerek - Depew, 12

Marquel Jackson - Cheektowaga, 11

Jaden Cotton - Depew, 12

 

Second Team

Brendan Cox - East Aurora, 10

Alex Turecki - Amherst, 11

Zak Ciezki - Cheektowaga, 9

Derek Clyburn - Cheektowaga, 11

Aaron Ertel - Depew, 12

 

Honorable Mention

Pioneer: Terik Lewis - 11, Mike Brass - 12, Connor Johnson - 11

Springville: Hunter Berry - 12

Amherst: Jonah Heim - 11, Dion Lewis - 11

East Aurora: Ian Allen - 11

 

************************************************************************ 

 

ECIC IV

Player of the Year:

Jordan Farrant - Holland, 12

 

First Team

Jesse Lalka - Tonawanda, 12

Daryl Spencer - Cleveland Hill, 12

Clayton Hess - Tonawanda, 11

Miles Barker - Cleveland Hill, 12

Paul Matuszak - Alden, 12

 

Second Team

Zak Stone - Alden, 12

Shaquille Brooks - Lackawanna, 11

Jared Wilkins - Cleveland Hill, 10

Nick Anderson - JFK, 11

Ken Minorczyk - JFK, 12

 

Honorable Mention

Alden: Corey Barczykowski - 11, Ryan Sosnowski - 12

Eden: Joe Slisz - 12, Brad Palmerton - 10

Holland: Trevor Leach - 12, Curtis Blendinger - 11, Clay Lewis - 9

JFK: Jimmy Quinn - 12, Ben Zaccagnino - 12

Lackawanna: Norman Sweat - 11, Raytrel Finley - 12

Tonawanda: Jake Spencer - 12, Ben Stitch - 10

 

********************************************************************

 

NIAGARA FRONTIER LEAGUE

First Team

Jermaine Crumpton - Niagara Falls, 11

Martin Bailey - Kenmore West, 12

Quinton Campbell - Kenmore West, 11

John Dziewit - Lew-Port, 12

Jack Mulcahey - Niagara Wheatfield, 11

 

Second Team

JJ Wilkes - Niagara Falls, 11

Taijay Williams - Niagara Falls, 12

Corey Mis - North Tonawanda, 12

PJ Blanch - Kenmore East, 12

DiAntre Cullens - Lockport, 12

 

Third Team

Quinn Carey - Grand Island, 9

Ryan Bradt - North Tonawanda, 12

Nick DiMartile - Lockport, 12

Jakai Daniels - Kenmore East, 12

Corey Pietkiewicz - North Tonawanda, 12

 

********************************************************************* 

 

NIAGARA-ORLEANS LEAGUE

First Team

Darnell Carson - CSAT, 11

Josh Haight - Barker, 12

Tyler Martin - Wilson, 12

Jake Haight - Barker, 10

Brad Bobbit - Roy-Hart, 12

 

Second Team

Connor Sears - Newfane, 11

Sean Seefeldt - Newfane, 12

Scott Kneeland - Newfane, 12

Pat Diez - Wilson, 12

Connor Ladd - Akron, 11

 

Honorable Mention

Newfane: CJ Knight - 12, Bryan Geise - 11

Wilson: Dustin DiLaura - 12, Pat Walch - 12

CSAT: Justin Black - XX

Medina: Lucas Evans - XX

Akron: Austin Mietz, 11

Albion: Nick Santos, 12

 

**********************************************************************************

CCAA I

Player of the Year:

Kevin Holmes - Dunkirk, 12

 

First Team

Sam Eckstrom - Olean, 10

 Dylan Meyer - Fredonia, 10

Ryan Nord - Falconer, 12

Zach Harrington - Allegany-Limestone, 12

Kyle Radack - Southwestern, 11

 

Second Team

Wil Bathurst - Olean, 10

Max Portlow - Olean, 10

Mike Donaldson - Dunkirk, 12

Nick Johnston - Fredonia, 10

Nick Huffman - Gowanda, 12

 

Honorable Mention

Olean: Nick Schmidt - 10, Luke Hennessy - 10, Pat Scholla - 11

Allegany-Limestone: Kyle Trietley - 12, Jeff Tang - 12

Southwestern: Jake Swan - 12, Peter Trathen - 11

Dunkirk: Josh Mleczko - 12, Evan Ahlstrom - 12

Falconer: Brandon DePietro - 11, Nick Conti - 11

Fredonia: John Piper - 9

Gowanda: Alex Sternisha - 12

 

*******************************************************************************

 

CCAA II

Player of the Year:

Zeddie Williams - Silver Creek, 11

 

First Team

Dustin Schauman - Cassadaga Valley, 12

Zach Blask - Portville, 11

Jevon Battle - Salamanca, 12

John Morgante - Randolph, 12

Brady Morrison - Randolph, 12

 

Second Team

Steve Marcey - Silver Creek, 11

Kaine Kettle - Silver Creek, 10

Mike Querrieo - Portville, 12

Zach Miles - Portville, 12

Gage Bird - Frewsburg, 12

Jackson John - Salamanca, 12

 

Honorable Mention

Silver Creek: Jon Jimerson - 12, Frank Brown - 12

Cassadaga Valley: Mike Lanphere - 12, Matt Woodward - 12, Kyle Pfeiffer - 12

Salamanca: Tanner John - 11, Bryce Stahlman - 12

Portville: Chris Querrieo - 12, Ryan Marcellin - 12, Josh Watson - 11

Cattaraugus-Little Valley: Hayden Griffith - 12

Frewsburg: Alex Elderkin - 11, Ian MacFarland - 12

Randolph: Bryce Morrison - 9

 

**********************************************************************************

 

CCAA III

Player of the Year:

Alex Grace - Maple Grove, 12

 

First Team

Austin Alonge - Westfield, 12

Jake Reynolds - Franklinville, 12

Skylar Liddell - Maple Grove, 12

Jason McMahon - Chautauqua Lake, 12

John Coe - Westfield, 11

 

Second Team

Nate Stott - Forestville, 12

Ian Clute - Chautauqua Lake, 10

Trey North - Westfield, 12

LucasTrombley - Pine Valley, 11

Colin Lapi - Ellicottville, 12

Joe Frazier - Maple Grove, 12

Jason Pembridge - Maple Grove, 12

 

Honorable Mention

Forestville: Jacob Nosbisch - 10

Chautauqua Lake: Dan Gleason - 12

Ellicottville: Connor Hellwig - 12, Josh Bower - 12

Westfield: Anthony Leone - 12

Pine Valley: Lyle Howard - 12, Nate Noble - 12

 

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Those two games are gone forever - let's deal with it!

The member schools of the NYSPHAA  just finished their second 18-game regular season.  Next year, those schools will be again limited to just 18 games - down two games from seasons past, down six games from what Monsignor Martin schools can schedule, and significantly down from what most states in this country allow. 

 

I've heard it discussed, read articles about it, and read ranting on blogs.  These last two  years, when the quality of basketball in WNY is questioned, (whether it's the players aren't as good anymore, we don't have the powerhouse teams we used to have, or there aren't enough marquee games) it always seems to come back to one thing - we have to get those two games back from the state.

 

I'm sorry, but those two games are gone and we're not getting them back.  It's a sad reality, but one that needs to be faced. I could sooner see the state taking more away, rather than restoring the basketball season to 20 games.   The biggest  impact of the restriction is felt in nonleague scheduling. 

 

With the exception of the charter schools, all public schools in Section VI are part of a league, and depending on which your team belongs to, league play gobbles up either 12 or 14 of the 18-game allowance.  In the Niagara Orleans league or the Yale Cup for example, teams play 14 league games.  League play began this year in January, but the season starts in the last week of November.  That leaves over a month of season, in which you're allowed to schedule four games.  One tournament played over two nights, and you're down to two games.  If you play in a tip-off tournament, you're left with two games to schedule over the course of 30 days.  That's unacceptable!  So let's stop accepting it.  If this is the fate we are dealt, it's time to work within it.

 

The only suggestion I've heard is teams face league opponents just once and rotate the home sight annually.  I have a solution that I think makes even more sense, and is the best compromise I've come up with to maintain the esablished leagues, while greatly improving the nonleague scheduling dilema.

 

I'll use the Yale Cup large schools (Yale Cup I) to illustrate this example.  Rather than all eight teams playing a home and home against each other, divide those large schools in half - by team strength, by location, etc. - however you want to divide them.  Say it's:

1. McKinley, Riverside, Hutch-Tech, & East

2. Bennett, Lafayette, South Park, Burgard

Teams from group one still play a home and home (six games), then group one plays each team from group two just once (four games).  Teams could even leave one game on their schedule "open" for a league showcase, which could also serve as a tiebreaker in some league races.  In this example, league games are reduced to 10 or 11 games, allowing seven or eight nonleagers.  That's four tournaments, one for every weekend in December.

 

The above formula is designed for leagues with eight teams, which include: Yale Cup I, Yale Cup II, ECIC I, NFL, and N-O.

 

Leagues with seven teams include: ECIC II, III, & IV, and all four CCAA divisions.  Those teams currently play six nonleague games and 12 league contests.  If you're okay with six nonleague game, then you're in good shape.  If you want more, here's what I've come up with:

 

- Move one team from CCAA I down to CCAA II and move a team from CCAA III down to CCAA IV.   Now CCAA I & III would have six teams (10 league games), while CCAA II & IV  would have eight teams and could follow the format above.

 

That leaves ECIC II, III, and IV all with seven teams.  If each league added one team, they'd all have eight teams and could also follow the eight-team league format outlined above.  But where do we come up with three teams to add?  Well, I can think of three independent charter schools off the top of my head: Oracle, Tapestry, and Maritime.  CSAT is a charter school and plays in the N-O.  It's not such a crazy concept.

 

 

I realize everything I wrote may sound complicated.  To me, it's logical and makes perfect sense. 

 

Is it a sensible solution to a situation that isn't going to get any better on its own or is it just a pipe dream?  For me, the answer depends on how badly the coaches want more nonleague games to schedule.

 

Call me crazy, call me brilliant, call me naive...just say something.  This is an issue that needs a productive discussion or there will never be any resolution - just a long December.  I want reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last.

 

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Previewing the Sectionals

 

The Section VI postseason begins tonight with a pair of first round games to get things going.  JFK will host Gowanda, while Springville travels to Eden.  As of right now, I haven't decided where I'll be tonight.

 

Several pre-quarterfinal games will be played on Wednesday, including a double-header at Bennett HS beginning at 6 pm.  Grand Island plays at Hamburg, while Roy-Hart facing Emerson at Grabiartz look to be the most compelling of the games on the evening.

 

Friday night is when the action really kicks up, as quarterfinal 32 games will decide which teams move on to Buffalo State and JCC for the semifinals.  Assuming things shake out the way I think they will before Friday, there are some great potential matchups on the way, and an upset or two certain to shake up the big picture before next week.

 

Most likely quarterfinal upsets

Class A1

(5) Hutch-Tech @ (4) Iroquois - The Chiefs scored a big win late in the season at then league-unbeaten ECIC II co-champ Williamsville East.  The Engineers stumbled against Bennett in the same week. 

Class B1

(5) East @ (4) Newfane - We knew there would be some quality quarterfinal games in the B1 bracket, and here's one of them.  East battled through the large schools in the Yale Cup, and came away with a win over Riverside and gave McKinley a close game in February.  They also have a distinct size advantage with Rashaan Brown and Tyree Tyson inside.

(6) Depew @ (3) Dunkirk - We couldn't have more opposite situations.  Depew played in a large school league (ECIC III), scheduled Williamsville North (Class AA), and defeated St. Mary's in its tournament.  Dunkirk has plowed through its competition not named Olean.  The problem is, there really was no competition for the Marauders.  Another lousy nonleague schedule, along with CCAA I being less than a meat grinder, and Dunkirk hasn't won a game by less than 15 all year.

Class B2

(5) Akron vs. (4) CSAT **at Kenmore West ** - Has anyone noticed how good these two teams have played in the last month?  Both beat Wilson this month, Akron also topped Newfane.  CSAT already owns two victories over Akron.  However, Tigers head coach Justin Gerstung has shown the ability to come up with a great scheme and pull off a stunner in sectionals before...just ask Wilson.

(6) City Honors @ (3) Allegany-Limestone - Another case of a team playing well late in the season and picking up some good wins against quality opponents.  The Centaurs beat I-Prep twice this year and also tripped up MST Seneca.

Class C2

(7) I-Prep @ (2) Maple Grove - The Red Dragons played some stiff competition to start the year, but haven't seen too many quality opponents recently, with the exception of Westfield and CG Finney.  I-Prep had the benefit of meeting some quality opponents in the city, including a pair of epic battles with the #3 seed, MST Seneca.

 

Top 5 Quarterfinal Games

5. Class B1 - East @ Newfane

4. Class AA - North Tonawanda @ Frontier

3. Class AA - Williamsville North @ Kenmore West

2. Class C2 - I-Prep @ Maple Grove

1. Class B1 - Depew vs. Dunkirk **at Silver Creek**

 

Most likely to avance to Glens Falls

Olean (Class B) and OTC/MEC (Class C)

 

Biggest favorite to win its bracket

OTC/MEC in Class C1

 

Best Bracket stop-to-bottom

Class B1 & Class C2

 

Most exciting potential championship matchups

Class C2 - MST Seneca vs. Silver Creek

Class AA -  Niagara Falls vs. Jamestown

 

Streaks & Stats heading into sectionals

- Olean has won 16 straight games and has no losses to any team from WNY

- OTC/MEC hasn't lost to a small school this season

- Maple Grove has won 15 straight games and has averaged 78.6 ppg over its last eight games

- Kenmore West has yet to lose a game in the calendar year and has won 15 straight.

- Frontier has won nine straight games

- McKinley's only losses this season were to Canisius and St. Joe's

 

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Class A1 Sectional Bracket

 

Pre-Quarterfinals - Wednesday, February 22nd

(9) Kenmore East 77, (8) Lake Shore 71

(5) Hutch-Tech 70, (12) Starpoint 31

(7) Sweet Home 56, (10) West Seneca East 37

(6) Hamburg 52, (11) Grand Island 51

 

Quarterfinals - Friday, February 24th

(1) McKinley 94, (9) Kenmore East 46

(5) Hutch-Tech 90, (4) Iroquois 51

 

(2) Williamsville South 56, (7) Sweet Home 48

(3) Williamsville East 78, (6) Hamburg 29

 

Semifinals - Wednesday, February 29th

AT BUFFALO STATE - 6 & 7:45 pm

(1) McKinley 58, (5) Hutch-Tech 53

(3) Williamsville East 46, (2) Williamsville South 38

 

Section VI Class A1 Championship - Wednesday, February 29th

AT BUFFALO STATE - 6:30 pm

 (1) McKinley 59, (3) Williamsville East 56

 

2012 Section VI Class A1 Champions  - McKinley Macks

 

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Random Smatterings - Round 6

Prior to Timon hosting St. Joe's, an older gentleman took the microphone and sang a great rendition of the National Anthem.  When he finished, Marauder coach Mark Simon said "That was like having Louie Prima in the house", to which the gentleman responded "I hope I sounded better than him, he's dead".

 

Speaking of anthems, the best I've heard sung live this year was at Depew on Monday night.

 

Two nights after Iroquois handed Williamsville East its first league loss of the season, they were defeated by Lake Shore, 82-77.  Lake Shore then fell to Dunkirk by 59 points.

 

Jesse Lalka and Clayton Hess posted identical stat lines, 15 points & 10 rebounds, in Tonawanda's ECIC IV title clinching 53-41 win against Lackawanna.

 

When Riverside played at Hutch-Tech, the Frontiers scorekeeper yelled something at head coach Ron Killinger, to which he responded "What are yelling at me for?  I should be yelling at you".  The two later celebrated Valentine's Day together.

 

Matt McCormick of Orchard Park scored 36 of his team's 65 points in a win against West Seneca West, including nine 3-pointers.  He followed that performance up by netting 30 of his team's 52 points in a loss to Frontier. 

 

Wilson has lost three of its last four after beginning 9-0 in the N-O.  Two of those loses were by identical 45-42 scores.

 

CSAT has won seven straight games heading into tonight's game at Newfane.  If they win and Wilson loses to Roy-Hart, there would be a three-way tie for the N-O league title.

 

Amherst's win over Pioneer earned the Tigers the ECIC III crown, their first league championship in six years.

 

Skylar Liddell hit a 3-pointer to force overtime and then scored 10 of his game-high 35 in the extra session, to lead Maple Grove to a 79-75 victory over CG Finney of Section V.

 

Clarence finished the regular season 9-9.  Following an 8-1 start, the Red Devils dropped their final eight games.

 

Jordan Farrant had 15 points and 12 boards in Holland's 64-52 win against Eden.  Those totals pushed him past 1,500 career points and 600 career rebounds.

 

Sam Eckstrom scored 28 points with nine boards and two blocks in just over a half of Olean's 76-47 win over Southwestern.

 

St. Mary's PA announcer, Sean Bruso, uses an inaudible mumble reminiscent of Jim Rome's imitation of Bill Belichick, to acknowledge baskets scored by the opposition.

 

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Random Smatterings - Round 5

I love it when a player comes in during a Prep Talk chat using some johnny-come-lately name and asks a question about himself.  It's always like "Hey Keith, what do you think of that so-and-so kid from XYZ.  I see he scored 27 the other night, making a case for All-WNY".  

 

Here are the last four point totals from junior Darnell Carson of CSAT: 32, 27, 29, & 20.

 

One of my favorites is when a player jumps out of bounds to save a ball, only to throw it against the back of the backboard.

 

There are only three teams in WNY that haven't lost to a team from WNY: St. Joe's, Jamestown, and Olean.

 

Stan Wier dropped 37 points on the Warriors in East Aurora's 71-44 win over Cheektowaga, Quinten Campbell scored 33 points to lead Kenmore West past Lew-Port, 62-49, and Jon Gemerek finished with 31 points to lift Depew past Maryvale, 66-59.

 

Cheektowaga trailed Springville, 45-31 after three quarters of play.  The Warriors then used a 31-9 fourth quarter to comeback and win, 62-54.

 

Akron saw four of its players score a team-high eight points and held Wilson to single-digits in all four quarters of a 53-25 stunner in the N-O.

 

Kyle Kobis led Bishop Timon/St. Jude with 24 points, as the Tigers earned a 62-42 victory against St. Francis.  During the win, Kobis sank a 3-pointer that lifted him past 1,ooo points for his career.

 

Olean is New York State's #1 ranked team in Class B.

 

I see a lot of the same faces at the big games each week, including one of the players.  If the Warriors aren't practicing or playing, Clayton Hess of Tonawanda can be found at a high school basketball game somewhere. 

 

Grand Island picked up its first league win of the season over Niagara Wheatfield on Friday, outscoring the Falcons 15-6 in the fourth quarter to comeback and win, 49-47.  It was the Vikings second straight victory.

 

Williamsville South topped Iroquois, 77-67, in a game with a high-scoring finish.  The Chiefs outscored the Billies, 31-30 in the fourth quarter.

  

Joe Lowery finished with 37 points in Niagara Catholic's loss to Walsh, Connor Keenan scored 37 points in a 76-72 loss to Iroquois, Barker sophomore Jake Haight put up 35 points & 21 rebounds on Newfane in a 74-64 loss, Sean Weisensal had 34 points for Maryvale in a loss to Depew, and Stan Wier of East Aurora scored 32 points in a losing effort at Amherst.

 

St. Joe's sophomore, Tyler Hill, a starter for the varsity football and JV basketball teams, was spotted cheering for the Panthers in the Blue Zone when Newfane beat Wilson on Thursday night.

 

Junior Zeddie Williams scored 18 points, grabbed 15 boards, and dished seven assists as Silver Creek avenged its only loss this season, beating Randolph, 57-54.

 

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Tonawanda's first loss headlines Tuesday's upsets and eyebrow raisers

 

And then there were none.

 

Heading into tonight's action, there was only Tonawanda occupying the ranks of the unbeaten.  Now the Warriors find themselves in a tie for first place in ECIC IV with the team that beat them, Cleveland Hill.  The Golden Eagles took Tonawanda to overtime and came away with a 54-52 victory.  Jared Watkins led four players in double figures for the victors with 14 points, while Jordan Parker scored 12 points, Miles Barker had 11, and Darryl Spencer finished with 10 points.

 

Tonawanda only had four players score in the game and got 42 of its 52 points from two players, as Clayton Hess scored 27 points, while Jesse Lalka netted 15 points.

 

***

 

Williamsville East fell for the first time in ECIC II, losing 76-72 to visiting Iroquois.  The Flames remain in first place in their league despite the loss, as second place Williamsville South has a pair of league losses.  Madison Wesolowski had a team-high 27 points for the Chiefs, while Nathan Wilkinson added 22 points.  Connor Kennan scored a career-high 37 points for the Flames in the loss.

 

After picking up his first win against his father earlier this season, Chris Kensy's Amherst squad fell to Maryvale, coached by his father, Mark Kensy, 62-59.  The Tigers can still take sole possesion of the ECIC III crown with wins against Cheektowaga on Thursday and Pioneer next week.

 

Following its first league loss in a hard fought contest at Newfane on Thursday, Wilson traveled to Akron and got routed, 53-25.  The Tigers clearly had a plan for Lakemen standout Tyler Martin, as they held the team's leading scorer to just one point in the game.  The loss drops Wilson into a tie with Newfane for first place in the N-O league.

 

East Aurora avenged an earlier 76-69 loss to Cheektowaga in grand fashion, trouncing the Warriors, 71-44, behind a game-high 37 points from UB bound Stan Wier.  The league loss is the third of the season for Cheektowaga, who along with the Blue Devils, are tied for second place in ECIC III.

 

Silver Creek moved into sole possesion of first place in CCAA II, avenging its lone loss of the season with a 57-54 win against Randolph.  Steve Marcey led the Black Knights with 19 points and Zeddie Williams added 18 points.

 

In the first meeting between Jamestown and Sweet Home, the Red Raiders won 94-65.  Tonight, the Panthers traveled to Jamestown and left with a 66-50 loss. 

 

After picking up its first league win this season against Clarence last Tuesday, West Seneca West nearly won another, losing 52-49 to Williamsville North.

 

Clarence began the year 8-1, but is now amidst a six-game losing streak following its most recent loss tonight against Frontier, 62-50.

 

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Top games of the week ending 2/12/12

Here's a list of what I think are the top games to follow this week.

 

Monday, February 6th

City Honors @ OTC/MEC - 7 pm

 

Tuesday, February 7th

Cleveland Hill @ Tonawanda -  6:30 pm

Clarence @ Frontier - 7:30 pm

Cheektowaga @ East Aurora - 7:30 pm

Iroquois @ Williamsville East - 7:30 pm

Hamburg @ Williamsville South - 7:30 pm

Silver Creek @ Randolph - 7:30 pm

Sherman @ Panama - 7:30 pm

 

Wednesday, February 8th

Riverside @ Hutch-Tech - 6 pm

 

Thursday, February 9th

MST Seneca @ I-Prep - 6 pm

Cheektowaga @ Amherst - 7:30 pm

St. Joe's @ Bishop Timon/St. Jude - 7:30 pm

 

Friday, February 10th

McKinley @ East - 6 pm

MST Seneca @ City Honors - 6pm

North Tonawanda @ Kenmore West - 7 pm

Williamsville North @ Clarence - 7:30 pm

Cassadaga Valley @ Portville - 7:30 pm

Westfield @ Maple Grove - 7:30 pm

 

Saturday, February 11th

Canisius @ Bishop Kearney - 3 pm

 

Sunday, February 12th

St. Joe's @ Aquinas - 4 pm

 

Game of the Week - St. Joe's @ Bishop Timon/St. Jude on Thursday, February 9th

- One of the experiences I most look forward to each year are the trips to South Buffalo for the Timon home games against St. Joe's and Canisius.  From the unique auditorium-style gymnasium, to the herds of fans that turn out , to the wildly entertaining Timon student section - there are few environments that can top it.

The last two regular season meetings between the Marauders and the Tigers were decided in overtime.  St. Joe's has won four in a row over the Tigers and have come out on top in their last two visits at Timon.

St. Joe's hopes to maintain its place as the top ranked large school in WNY with a good showing.  A win on Thursday would likely ensure at least a tie for the Monsignor Martin championship.  The Tigers remain a formidable opponent despite their struggles the last two seasons against St. Joe's and Canisius (0-7).  

 

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Random Smatterings - Round 3

 The Aquinas Lil Irish have an actual irish adult little person dressed as a leprechaun, and during timeouts, the team's mascot would come on the court to invoke the crowd.  I think more schools should use real mascots.  Hopefully schools like Maple Grove, Timon, or JFK read this and take action.

 

Grand Island freshman Quinn Carey scored a game-high 25 points in a 62-57 loss to North Tonawanda.

 

Depew trailed Springville 7-0, before a 26-0 run propelled the Wildcats to a 61-34 win.

 

Blake Fisher of Iroquois tied the school record for 3-pointers in a game with six, as the Chiefs defeated Lake Shore, 69-60.

 

At the MLK Classic against City Honors, a Lackawanna guard brought the ball a few feet over half court and as his defender sagged off of him, Steelers' coach Tim Foley called out to his guard "don't pick up your dribble".  The dribble was picked up, almost on cue, and the player was trapped.  Foley had a seat next to him waiting for the player. 

 

Lamont Little had 22 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists to lead Riverside past Bennett, 60-48.

 

During the Section V thriller between Aquinas and Bishop Kearney, AQ guard Jahmahl Pardner and BK guard Antwoine Anderson were near the sideline, awaiting an inbounds pass.  Some AQ fans yelled to Pardner, "make him go right, he can't go right, he has no right".  Anderson turned to the fans, and with a wink and a smile, said "I know".

 

Aaron Frasier scored 29 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished eight assists in MST Seneca's 76-75 win over I-Prep.

 

Jesse Lalka became Tonawanda's all-time leading scorer with a 21-point effort in the Warriors 46-41 win at Lackawanna.

 

At the MLK Classic, I watched a player do the slap the ground thing, to indicate he was really going to D-up.  Then the guy he was guarding blew past him, scored, and drew a foul.  What's up with the ground slap anyway?

 

East Aurora senior Stan Wier scored 28 points and ripped 20 boards to will his Blue Devils past OTC/MEC in overtime, 68-61.

 

Riverside big man Mike Leonard had 16 rebounds and 11 blocks in the Frontiers' 68-63 win against Hutch-Tech.

 

OTC/MEC coach Randall Rich needs a normal sized dry erase board.  He brought a massive board that needed a tripod to prop it up to the MLK Classic.  It had to be placed sideways between chairs during the game and served as a partition between two players.

 

Justin Bangert had 19 points and 15 rebounds, both career-highs, to lead Williamsville North past Clarence, 68-59.

 

If Olean doesn't lose again before March, what would St. Mary's have to do to move past them in the small school poll?  If they had beaten Canisius?  If they win at Timon?

 

Milton's Shaquille Johnson dunked seven times against Niagara Falls, in going 9-11 from the floor.  Three of those dunks are the top three dunks I've ever seen in a high school game.  They included a take-off from the free throw line, a windmill, and a soaring two-hander where his face was level with the rim before throwing it down.

 

Stan Wier was awarded "McShea is God 2012 POY" after being named 2nd Team All-WNY in 2010.  Congratulations to Stan.  Only one spot remains on his first team next  to Wier, Aaron White, Jonathan Lewis, and Sterling Taplin. 

 

 

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ECIC vs. MMA Challenge begins tonight

The annual ECIC vs. MMA Challenge at St. Mary's High School in Lancaster begins this evening.  This high school hoops bender of ten games in three nights sponsored by AdPro Sports, always provides a number of games with poll implications and opportunities to see a variety of teams and players.

 

If you've only read about high-scoring Holland senior Jordan Farrant, get there early on Monday and see him for yourself.  Looking for the marquee small school matchup of the season?  Don't miss the Olean/St. Mary's tilt on Tuesday. 

 

Here's a complete list of the games this week:

 

Monday, December 12, 2011

Cardinal O'Hara 45, Holland 38 

St. Francis 47, Iroquois 44

Bishop Timon/St. Jude 54, Williamsville South 48

 

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Archbishop Walsh 59, Lackawanna 47

Olean 74,  St. Mary's 66

Canisius 77, Kenmore West 53

 

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Grand Island 58, Christian Central 48

Nichols 59, Cheektowaga 50

Depew 74, Niagara Catholic 49

St. Joe's 63, Sweet Home 54

 

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Quarterfinals are on for tonight

Of the 28 scheduled quarterfinal games for tonight, only four have been postponed.  Even Allegany-Limestone is making the looonnnggg trip up north to play at Wilson.

 

Rescheduled for Saturday, February 25th

Class B1

Buffalo Arts @ Dunkirk - 2 pm

Class D

Olmstead @ Sherman - 2 pm

North Collins @ Panama - 2 pm

Ellicottville @ Clymer - 2 pm

 

That means a near full slate of games tonight to determine the participants of this season's semifinals at Buffalo State & JCC.

 

Let us know what you saw tonight and how it turned out.

 

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Class A1 Sectionals

Dates and times of postseason games for both Section VI and the MMAA can be found here.

 

1st Round

(12) Grand Island 64, (13) Lake Shore 63

 

Pre-Quarterfinals

(8) Iroquois 59, (9) Hamburg 36

(5) Sweet Home 78, (12) Grand Island 53

(7) Kenmore East 71, (10) Starpoint 63

(6) West Seneca East 63, (11) Lafayette 60

 

Quarterfinals

(1) Williamsville South 78, (8) Iroquois 71

(4) Hutch Tech 59, (5) Sweet Home 43

 (7) Kenmore East 51, (2) Williamsville East 42

(3) Bennett 62, (6) West Seneca East 45

 

Semifinals @ Buffalo State

(1) Williamsville South 61, (4) Hutch Tech 52

(3) Bennett  57, (7) Kenmore East 50

 

Class A1 Final @ Buffalo State

(1) Williamsville South 56, (3) Bennett 49

 

2011 Section VI Class A1 Champions - Williamsville South Billies

 

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Poll ballots - Week 2

As a pollster for the Buffalo News, I'm asked to send in my weekly ballots ranking the top ten large and small schools.  The polls are based on the games played through Sunday of each week.  Here's a look at how I see them and some of the rationale used to get there.

 

Large Schools

1. Niagara Falls (AA) - If they don't receive ten first place votes, someone needs their head checked.  I repeat, Falls is back.

2. Jamestown (AA) - Looked real good for three quarters against Williamsville South, then were fortunate to get the win after the Billes came storming back.

3. Williamsville South (A1) - If Aaron Adams is wearing a uniform instead of a cast or if they play the Red Raiders anywhere else but Jamestown, they are still number two. But rankings should be result based, not hypothetically driven.

4. Canisius (MMAA) - After seeing the Crusaders in the Wilson Tipoff Tournament, I didn't think they'd be sitting behind three other teams.

5.  Williamsville North (AA) - After a close call with Lancaster, they travel to Orchard Park on Tuesday night.  ECIC I will be a fun race to follow this season.

6. Riverside (A2) - With their non-league schedule complete after winning on the road against the Quakers, the Frontiers now shift the focus towards winning the Yale Cup.

7. East (A2) - The Panthers face a big test next week in the Rush Henrietta Tournament, opening against Section V's defending AA champ, the East Orientals. 

8. St. Joe's (MMAA) - They looked like a well-oiled machine against Lackawanna, then looked like they hadn't ever practiced together against Aquinas.  That inconsistency slides them down a spot.  We'll see which team wants to play the Presidents tonight.

9. McKinley (AA) - The Macks get a whole month off after beating Orchard Park, with their next game after the New Year against South Park.  McKinley still moves up a spot, because...

10. Bishop Timon-St. Jude (MMAA) - slid down two spots.  Why?  Cheektowaga had a larger margin of victory over Nichols than the Tigers, and Timon needs to step up its schedule.  Home games against Oracle Charter and MST Seneca, and a home tournament including Maritime Charter, Buffalo Academy of Science, and Iroquois isn't exactly a meat grinder for a large school in the MMAA. 

 

Small Schools

1. I-Prep at Grover (C) - Took care of business against Iroquois last week.  Face a big challenge at St. Joe's tonight.

2. OTC Middle College (C) - Defeated Nichols by 11 after a long drive south to St. Bonaventure.  The day after Christmas, they return to face Olean.

3. Wilson (B2) - Had no trouble beating Medina on Friday.  Host Lew-Port December 30th.

4. St. Mary's (MMAA) - Picked up a nice win against Clarence at the AdPro ECIC/Monsignor Martin Challenge.

5. Newfane (B1) - Conventional wisdom has Lackawanna as the favorites in Class B1.  My preseason pick was these Panthers, and I'm very comfortable with that.  Williamsville North would be wise not to look past Newfane in the Jolly Boys Tournament.

6. Tapestry Charter (C) - These guys are 5-0, and have now scored at least 90 points three times. 

7. Portville (C) - Won all three games they played this week, including a 15 point win over Archbishop Walsh.  They face Randolph in the championship game for the small schools at the IAABO Tournament on December 26th.

8. Dunkirk (B1) - Led by Vincent Bomasuto, the Marauders have started 3-0, most recently winning at Olean by 16.  Could this be the team to dethrone the Huskies as league champs?

9. Maple Grove (C) - Measuring stick game against Westfield this week was postponed.

10. Tonawanda (B1) - The Warriors are off to a good start.  The TNT rivalry game on Wednesday, at 7 pm in NT, looks to be a very good one.

 

Let me know how you'd have the teams ranked and where you disagree with my rankings.

 

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Classifications & Leagues

    Class AA                                                                         Class A1

    Niagara Falls - NFL                                                       Hamburg - ECIC II

    Lancaster - ECIC I                                                         Sweet Home - ECIC II

    Lockport - NFL                                                               Williamsville East - ECIC II

    Frontier - ECIC I                                                            Kenmore East - NFL

    Clarence - ECIC I                                                           Hutch-Tech - Yale Cup I

    Orchard Park - ECIC I                                                 Bennett - Yale Cup I

    Jamestown - ECIC I                                                      Grand Island - NFL

    Kenmore West - NFL                                                   Williamsville South - ECIC II

    Williamsville North - ECIC I                                     Lafayette - Yale Cup I

    West Seneca West - ECIC I                                        Iroquois - ECIC II

    North Tonawanda - NFL                                             West Seneca East - ECIC II

    Niagara Wheatfield - NFL                                           Starpoint - ECIC II

    McKinley - Yale Cup I                                                   Lake Shore - ECIC III

 

    Class A2                                                                          Class B1

    Amherst - ECIC III                                                        Tonawanda - ECIC IV

    Riverside - Yale Cup I                                                   Lackawanna - ECIC IV

    Buffalo East - Yale Cup I                                              Newfane - N-O

     Albion - N-O                                                                     Dunkirk - CCAA I

    Lew-Port - NFL                                                                 Alden - ECIC IV

    Cheektowaga - ECIC III                                               Medina - N-O

    Pioneer - ECIC III                                                          Eden - ECIC IV

    Maryvale - ECIC III                                                       JFK - ECIC IV

    Burgard - Yale Cup I                                                      Buffalo Arts - Yale Cup II

    South Park - Yale Cup I                                                Akron - N-O

    Olean - CCAA I                                                                 Roy-Hart - N-O

    East Aurora - ECIC III

    Springville - ECIC III

    Depew - ECIC III

 

    Class B2                                                                      Monsignor Martin

    Fredonia - CCAA I                                                         Canisius - A

    Cleveland Hill - ECIC IV                                             St. Joe's - A

    Emerson - Yale Cup II                                                 Bishop Timon-St. Jude - A

    City Honors - Yale Cup II                                          St. Francis - A

    Southwestern - CCAA I                                               St. Mary's - B

    Wilson - N-O                                                                    Cardinal O'Hara - B

    Gowanda - CCAA I                                                         Nichols - B

    Falconer - CCAA I                                                          Niagara Catholic - B

    Allegany-Limestone - CCAA I                                  Archbishop Walsh - B

    CSAT - N-O

    Cassadaga Valley - CCAA II

 

    Class C                                                                             Class D

    Salamanca - CCAA II                                                   Pine Valley - CCAA III

    Oracle Charter - Independent                                  Brocton - CCAA III

    OTC Middle College - Yale Cup II                          North Collins - CCAA III

    Maritime Charter - Independent                            Ellicottville - CCAA IV

    Holland - ECIC IV                                                         Forestville - CCAA IV

    I-Prep at Grover - Yale Cup II                                 Panama - CCAA IV

    Silver Creek - CCAA II                                                Olmsted - Yale Cup II

    Cattaraugus-Little Valley - CCAA II                      Sherman - CCAA IV

    Tapestry Charter - Independent                             Clymer - CCAA IV

    Randolph - CCAA II                                                      West Valley - CCAA IV

    Frewsburg - CCAA II                                                     Ripley - CCAA IV

    Portville - CCAA II

    Westfield - CCAA III

    Buffalo Science Charter - Independent

    Maple Grove - CCAA III

    MST Prep at  Seneca - Yale Cup II

    Chautauqua Lake - CCAA III

    Franklinville - CCAA III

    Barker - N-O

Random Smatterings - Week 1

When I wrote a preview for Prep Talk, I gave a preseason top ten for the large and small schools.  The hardest part was easily the first four large schools, which I had: 1. St. Joe's; 2. Williamsville South; 3. Jamestown; 4. Canisius.  Then I saw the Crusaders play twice.  Now I'm not changing anything yet, because I haven't seen the other three, and I'm confident they will all be quite impressive as well.  But I do think those four schools are bunched together at the top and it will be a lot of fun watching that sort out.  Oh yeah, then there's Niagara Falls, who might be quietly hiding in the shadows of a team that underachieved a year ago.  If they are (I'm guessing that's the case), make it a top five.

 

After seeing multiple city schools from Buffalo this week, I think the Yale Cup large schools will be a lot of fun to watch this year and very competitive.  East and McKinley both won at the Pastor-Cooper Tournament, while Riverside and Hutch Tech each looked good as well.   Bennett brings back a lot from last year and under the new format, every team plays a home-and-home, meaning Lafayette gets everyone once in its gym - never an easy place to win at.

 

St. Mary's hopes to rebound this week after losses to McKinley and Grover.  The Lancers next face a pair of top ten small schools and the elite of the N-O League, when they host Newfane tomorrow and play against Wilson on Saturday.  Then next week, they get Class AA finalist Clarence.  No other small school opened its season with a tougher schedule.

 

I was chatting with a fellow hoops junkie who questioned what Maple Grove had back to make them competitive.  When I began rattling names off, he said "now you're just reading names from their roster".  Now I realize that Chris Secky was nothing short of phenomonal in leading the Red Dragons to the Class D title last season, but I also saw them play seven times and there are a lot of good players back from that championship team.  They all benefitted from playing a grueling independent regular season schedule and finished by defeating the top Class D teams in the state. 

Well I'm not sure how many noticed, but Maple Grove opened its season by going on the road and defeating the defending four-time overall Class B champion Olean Huskies, 50-43.   Go ahead and tell me Olean is down this year...my response...Olean is Olean and they are a Class A2 school.

 

Tremmell Fisher was awesome in his 34 point effort against OTC Middle College, leading his East High Panthers back from a 10-point halftime deficit.  He plays strong inside, handles the ball well, shoots the three, and is very good defender.  Look for a big-time season from Fisher.

 

Davon Alexander gets most of the hype at OTC Middle College and he was very effective in the Kats first two games.  But OTC has several weapons on the team hoping to repeat as Class C champs.  Junior Khalid Brown has averaged 17 points in the first two games, Emmit Middlebrooks came off the bench to score a team-high 20 points in the loss to East, and Curtis Harper is solid player running the point.

 

Looking for this year's version of Clarence, a team that surprises many with its vast improvement?  Well it just may be the Williamsville East Flames, who interestingly enough started the season with a double-digit win over Clarence and won the Amherst tournament. 

 

Tomorrow the Buffalo News high school basketball preview is out.  Check out these team previews from the Niagara Gazette: Niagara Falls, Grand Island, Lew-Port, Niagara Wheatfield, Lockport, and Niagara  Catholic.

 

A player who is primed for a breakout season is Connor Rehbaum from St. Joe's.  He has all the tools to be one of the top guards in WNY and is coming off a solid performance in the Empire State Games this summer.  I heard that new Marauder Reggie Agbeko turned heads with a nasty baseline dunk on Friday night, as St. Joe's beat host Lockport, 60-43. 

 

The Barker Raiders got a pair of double-doubles from a pair of underclassmen in their 67-44 victory over Section V's Byron Bergen.  What makes it more interesting is that the pair are brothers.  Junior Josh Haight scored 28 points and grabbed 10 boards, while freshman Jake Haight netted 18 points and 13 rebounds. 

 

Kenmore East defeated Alden and host Iroquois to win the Greg D. Martin Tipoff Tournament.

 

Lackawanna opened its season with a one-point victory over St. Francis, while Frontier cruised past Hamburg in the first round of the Hamburg Lions Tournament. 

Starpoint lost a hard fought battle at Lew-Port on Saturday night.  The Spartans started freashnman Julian Mott at point guard after the former starter, senior Lucas Smith, left the team.

 

I found this pretty interesting: Section V's CG Finney is back is Class D after playing up in B2 last year.  On Saturday night, Finney defeated McQuaid, a Class AA school, 63-58.  McQuaid will be in Buffalo on December 17th to play Canisius and December 18th to play St. Mary's as part of the Tom Keenan Memorial Tournament.  Finney opened its season by winning the Allegany IAABO Tournament.  In the championship game, Finney beat Portville (Section VI Class C) by five - the same margin as the win over McQuaid.  Portville held an early 10-point lead in that contest.

 

Hinsdale has joined Section V and will compete in Class D2 there.

 

* Tomorrow night, I'll be at St. Mary's to watch the Lancers take on the Newfane Panthers.  It should be a very good game.  If you can't make it out, I'll have a post on the game.

 

By the way, there's a comments section on this blog.  Pick a name, use an email address, and say something.  It's that easy - no registration required.  

 

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Tonight's games at Daemen postponed, other postponements, two games still on

Tonight's consolation matchups at Daemen College have been postponed due to weather cancelling school for all four teams.  It is a strong possibility that the same thing could happen tomorrow night.

 

As of right now, a decision on a makeup date and time has not been made, but tournament officials and coaches are looking into options for making games up on Saturday. 

 

UPDATE - A tentative plan is in place for making up the boys consolation games.  The games are currently rescheduled for Saturday morning, begining at 9:30 am.   However, that plan is contingent on the Buffalo Public Schools being plowed out and back in class tomorrow.  If the Buffalo Schools are closed again tomorrow, the championship games would also be postponed...which could wind up changing everything.

 

FINAL UPDATE 12/3/10 

****************************************************************************************

The Greg D. Martin Tipoff Tournament at Iroquois (Alden, Kenmore East, East Aurora, Iroquois) has been postponed.

 

The Town of Hamburg Lions Tipoff tournament at Frontier (St. Francis, Lackawanna, Hamburg, Frontier) has been postponed.

 

The James Walker Tournament at Lew-Port (Lafayette, Starpoint, Lew-Port) has postponed the first game between Lafayette and Lew-Port.  ** This is a round robin tournament format with only three teams.  Friday's game between Lafayette and Starpoint will be contingent on whether the Buffalo Public Schools are in session.  Saturday night's contest between Starpoint and Lew-Port will take place @ 7 pm.

 

Cheektowaga @ Emerson has been postponed.

 

Clymer @ Pine Valley and Falconer @ Cassadaga Valley are both still being played this evening at 7:30 pm.

 

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The 2010-2011 preview is out

Following an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday weekend, it's finally time for some high school basketball.  I've completed a preview for the upcoming 2010-2011 season, which is available in its entirety at the Prep Talk blog. 

 

Portions of the preview will be featured here as posts in the coming days, beginning tomorrow.

 

I did my best to include as many schools as possible in the preview, but unfortunately I wasn't able to touch on every school in WNY.  My apologies to anyone left out.  Also, only returning varsity players were featured.  If you know of any impact players who are new to the varsity level, please tell us about them on the main event post.

 

My favorite part of writing a preview is making preseason predictions and putting them in print.  In a post tomorrow, we will take a look back at how the predictions from the 2009-2010 preview went.

 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, after you've finished reading the new preview at Prep Talk.

 

-centercourt