The most intriguing matchup throughout the St. Joe’s/Timon game recently was that of centers, Reggie Agbeko and DeMilo Gibbs. While the highly touted Agbeko was once again the best player on the floor, Gibbs certainly more than held his own, superbly knowing, and playing to his strengths, while minimizing the impact of his weaknesses. What struck me most was the unwillingness of Agbeko to front Gibbs, or at the least, attempt to force him to catch the ball higher in the paint. Instead, Gibbs was routinely allowed to establish position on the low block with regularity; a position he will not be moved from once he is established.
Even though Gibbs was unable to convert late free throws or a layup that could’ve tied the game, he was extremely efficient, particularly in the first half converting close range efforts throughout the contest. The match up remained interesting through all four quarters, largely due to the varying styles employed by each big man.
Late in the fourth quarter and into overtime, Agebko began to drift farther out of the paint to receive the ball, allowing him to use his athleticism along with his length while driving to the hole. This was instrumental in Joe’s late fight back and eventual win in the extra frame.
As I scanned the high school schedule this past Sunday, as I like to do at the beginning of every week, Thursday’s slate of games stuck out as one light on quantity yet heavy on quality. Canisius/Timon and McKinley/Hutch-Tech certainly stood out as important match-ups between good teams, but the game that interested me the most was the Niagara Orleans League rivalry of Newfane/Wilson, for a variety of reasons.
The fact that I had not yet taken a long road trip to a contest yet this season(about 40 miles from Tonawanda to Newfane.) I have always wanted to experience the much talked about Newfane/Wilson atmosphere and both teams being contenders in their respective class B brackets made it an easy decision to make the trip.
Canisius suffered tough losses last week to St. Joe’s and East (Rochester) that left them feeling rotten, not to mention out of the top spot in the large school poll rankings. Against another daunting foe in Bishop Timon, the fourth-ranked large school in Western New York, the Crusaders were in no mood to make it three defeats in six days.
Thanks to strong defense, second half coaching adjustments and fantastic free throw shooting, the Crusader moods got a little better.
Second-ranked Canisius shook off a terrible start, outscored Timon by 12 in the second half and beat the Tigers, 57-46 at the Bernard J. Kennedy Field House Thursday evening.
Everyone has known for a long time that prized high school football recruit Chad Kelly will be playing quarterback beginning next season at Clemson. The St. Joe’s record-setting senior made things official Wednesday by signing his National Letter of Intent at the school, present with his family, including Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly.
But Kelly wasn’t the only player singing a big-time letter Wednesday. St. Francis running back Akeel Lynch is now officially committed to Penn State University after signing Wednesday. The Gatorade New York State Player of the Year wasn’t scared off by the whole Jerry Sandusky/Sex Scandal that rocked the school over the past several months.
If stealing were a crime in high school hoops, the McKinley Macks would be facing some hard time after Tuesday evening.
“Stealing one” in a close game against a rival may sound like a giant cliché, but it’s exactly why the Macks walked off their home court victorious and still undefeated in league play.
With an offense that couldn’t seem to connect on an outside shot from anywhere on the floor, McKinley, ranked sixth among large schools, relied on their asphyxiating full court press defense to get the job done against Riverside.
By the time the final horn sounded, the Macks forced a mind-blogging 37 steals en route to a 63-52 victory and opening a two-game lead at the top of the Yale Cup.
With season-altering victories over Aquinas and Canisius last week, St. Joe’s wrestled the top spot in this week’s large school high school boys’ basketball poll. If Monday night is any indication, they’ll be in for a dog fight to hold on to it.
Once you reach the top of the mountain everyone guns for you and Bishop Timon got the first crack at Western New York’s new number one. The Monsignor Martin Association foes battled for four quarters and when things still couldn’t get settled, battled in overtime before the Marauders escaped with a 57-54 in in front of a packed gym featuring boisterous fans from both sides.
Senior center Reggie Agbeko continues to emerge as the front runner for Player of the Year and was a pivotal reason the Tigers left Kenmore in an upset mood rather than upset victors. Agbeko scored 22 points, pulled down 19 rebounds and swatted four shots—all in the second half and overtime and his team essentially needed every mark he filled in the stat sheet to pull off the win.
If you’re a fan of high school hoops in Western New York, one of the biggest controveries in a long time occurred last summer when former Jamestown star Jaysean Paige transferred to play for a school in Kentucky. From the moment the news became public, reaction from the Jamestown community ranged from anger to flat-out betrayal, and even accusations of Paige’s family being set up with a cushy job in exchange for Paige’s services.
Things got more interesting when Paige was initially ruled ineligible to play by the KHSAA before appealing and having the decision overturned in early December.
Turns out the split is working out just fine for both sides.
Paige has been performing quite well in Kentucky. Playing for the Perry County Central Commodores, Paige is averaging 22 points and 6.5 rebounds for Perry and the team is 18-4 and currently ranked 11th in the state. Paige has scored at least 30 points four times this season, including twice over his last three games.
“Just when you think you have all the answers— I change the questions.” – Roddy Piper.
That phrase best describes the topsy-turvy week in high school basketball across Western New York that just took place. If you thought for a split second you had a keen sense of the way things would play out, you may want to think again.
One of the more unpredictable and exciting seasons in recent memory got a lot more arbitrary over the past week.
Where do we even begin? Let’s start with St. Joe’s, who many wrote off for 2011-12 after blowing a big lead and falling short in last year’s Manhattan Cup final at Canisius College. There was good reason for tempered expectations this season. Last year’s team led by star forward Connor Rehbaum lost a lot of talent and senior leadership to graduation. Then Chad Kelly announced he wouldn’t be participating this year so he could focus on football. Yet, we’re near the end of January and the Marauders just concluded one of the biggest statement weeks they’ve had in years. Last Saturday they upset one of top teams in the state in Aquinas and Friday night in front of an electric home crowd, knocked off top-ranked large school Canisius.
Something that’s been suggested to me many times is a post on the college careers of WNY’s former high school players. So I decided to provide a list of any former player currently on a college roster. Those who wish to, can now use the comments section to provide updates on the players and discuss their progress at the next level.
If you know of someone who played high school basketball in WNY and is now currently on a college roster, but isn’t listed below, send me an email at: centercourt42@gmail.com Please include the high school attended the player attended and the year he graduated.
The sense all season long in boy’s high school basketball was it being merely a matter of time before St. Mary’s broke through with a influential, signature victory. The second-ranked small school in Western New York certainly has come close; taking powerhouse programs like Canisius, St. Joe’s and Olean to their limits before falling just short.
Tuesday evening, St. Mary’s finally broke down the underdog door. The Lancers initially were nearly run out of the gym in the first quarter, falling behind 11-2 to Bishop-Timon St. Jude less than three minutes in before regrouping, eventually seizing control and frantically holding on to upset the fourth-ranked large school Tigers, 73-71 in front of a stunned South Buffalo home crowd.
For St. Mary’s, it was all resiliency early that enabled them to withstand an opening Timon onslaught.
St. Francis high school stud running back Akeel Lynch has been verbally committed to attending Boston College since the mid July of last year. However, verbal commitments mean nothing until the player signs his National Letter of Intent. It appears as of Sunday night Lynch has changed his mind and in a shocker, is deciding to take his considerable football talents to Penn State University.
Lynch made the announcement late Sunday via his Twitter page and Keith McShea of the Buffalo News was the first to report on Monday.
A dominating force on the football field this season, Lynch led the Red Raiders over St. Joe’s to capture the Monsignor Martin Association championship at Ralph Wilson Stadium this past November. Lynch finished the season with a league-record 2,131 yards and for his efforts earned First-Team All-WNY honors as well as First-Team All-State and the Gatorade New York State Player of the Year.
While the verbal to Boston College was always in place, the 6-foot, 205-pound Lynch continued to carefully to weigh his options. Iowa and Oklahoma had spent time with Lynch recently and Penn State, despite the horrible allegations of late have always remained in the picture.
Lynch can officially with Penn state on February 1.
Saturday was unquestionably statement day for two of the top teams in the Monsignor Martin Association in high school hoops. Canisius and St. Joe’s let Bishop Timon, St. Mary’s and the rest of the league know they’re ready for the meat and potatoes of the season to commence after both posted ultra-impressive victories on their respective home floors Saturday afternoon.
St. Joe’s (13-2) stunned Rochester powerhouse Aquinas in Kenmore, 67-58 behind 16 points each from senior center Reggie Agbeko and guard Kyle Briggs. Aquinas (9-2) entered the game ranked ninth among Class-AA schools in the entire state. After a heavy loss to graduation following last year’s Manhattan Cup final team, many wrote the Marauders off for 2011-12. The win over Aquinas served strong notice that doing so was entirely premature.
Meanwhile, WNY top-ranked Canisius used a strong fourth quarter to beat Cathederal Prep (PA) on Delaware Avenue, 72-59. Matt MacDonald scored a career-high 23 points while Matt Hart added the same. Adam Weir scored 20 points and Aaron White chipped in with 16.
Two teams both ranked among the top ten large schools in Western New York capped off an exciting day of basketball at the Martin Luther King Classic at City Honors high school. Senior guard Matt Hart scored a career-high 30 points as second-ranked Canisius held off sixth-ranked McKinley in the fifth and final game of the day, 76-65.
The Macks played tough throughout, going on several runs to stay in the game and even led briefly in the third quarter, before Aaron White’s three-pointer took back the Canisius lead for good. White finished with 14 points while Matt MacDonald scored 13. Marcus Morris led McKinley with 25 points.
In other games, Stan Weir scored 28 points and pulled down 20 rebounds as East Aurora clipped OTM Middle College in overtime, 68-61.
Buffalo Sports Daily has learned that long time Bishop-Timon St. Jude head coach Jim Palano plans to retire at the end of the season, thus ending a career at Timon spanning almost 40 years.
According to multiple sources, Palano will retire from coaching basketball and baseball as well as teaching at the end of the year. Palano has been the head coach of the basketball team since 1989 and prior to that was an assistant under his legendary father, Mel Palano since 1973.
Palano declined to comment about his retirement for this story.
During his 23-year stint as Timon’s head coach, Palano has accumulated 345 coaching victories; second-most in Monsignor Martin Association history, trailing only his father (544.) Palano recently passed former longtime Canisius coach Johnny Barnes.
Seniors Jordan Williams and DeMilo Gibbs learned early Wednesday that they made the All-New York State fifth team in football. Later that evening, they took their celebration to the hardwood.
Gibbs scored a game-high 16 points and Williams scored 10 of his 12 in the decisive first half as Bishop-Timon St. Jude showed why they’re the third-ranked large school in Western New York, throttling O’Hara, 85-41 in South Buffalo.
Timon (9-3, 2-0) jumped out to a nine point lead after the first quarter and by the early portion of the second, the game was well in hand. Five Tigers would up scoring in double figures as Fulton Bryant scored 12 points and added 10 rebounds while Ryan Dougherty and Donte Williams each netted 10 points.
A couple of near upsets highlighted a busy night of action in boy’s high school basketball Tuesday night. Underdog small school St. Mary’s gave second-ranked large school Canisius all they could handle on the road as the Crusaders got 20 points from junior Adam Weir and hung on to beat the Lancers, 54-51 in Monsignor Martin Association action.
The other nail biter came in Yale Cup action as heavily favored East needed two overtimes to put away upstart Burgard, 51-50. East led by three before Burgard’s Justin Jennings hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to force extra action. Rashaan Brown led East with 19 points and nine rebounds.
Over at Kenmore, St. Joe’s hosted a Chinese team (Shanghai Nanyang) and came away with a 68-45 victory on the strength of 23 points from dominant senior center Reggie Agbeko.
In other action, Aaron Frasier scored 24 points to lead Seneca to a 71-58 win over Buffalo Arts….Ryan Whepley scored 22 points as Walsh defeated Niagara Catholic, 69-58….. Justin Bangert had 19 points and Sterling Taplin added 18 as Williamsville North improved to 6-4 by knocking off Clarence, 68-59….. Top-ranked Niagara Falls had no problems with Kenmore East, winning 76-32 behind 22 points from Canisius College bound junior Jermaine Crumpton’s 22 points.
It was a stunningly bad night in boys high school basketball for both Williamsville South and North Wednesday evening. Both lost in the semifinals of the Jolly Boys Tournament. South was shocked by Newfane, 65-62 behind 17 points from Justin Harvey. North was upended by St. Francis, 59-45 as Kyle Wagner paced St. Francis with 15 points and held North star sophomore Sterling Taplin to just five points.
In other games, Stain Wier tied a school-record 40 points for East Aurora as they defeated winless West Seneca East, 73-32.
Canisius traveled to Washington and the top ranked large school played undefeated Tampa Jesuit tough, but still lost 71-60. Adam Weir led Canisius with 19 points while Matt MacDonald added 14 points.
Poor Tyler Haden. The Bishop-Timon junior guard was the lone member of the Tigers’ 14-man roster who failed to break into the scoring column Thursday evening. The rest of his team had no problem decimating an overmatched Maritime squad, 84-28 in the first round of the fourth annual Mark F. Scarcello Memorial Basketball Classic in South Buffalo.
The third-ranked large school Tigers will face Iroquois in the championship game Friday night after the Chiefs routed Tapestry, 78-59 in the first match up.
Thirteen different Timon players scored as the Tigers raced out to a 20-point lead after the first quarter, led 48-16 at halftime and had the bench completely emptied out before the third quarter was half over.
Phil Valenti, headed to play his college basketball at Canisius next year, scored 28 points and Christian White added 18 as Rochester-based Aquinas dominated early and held on for a 76-68 victory over top-ranked WNY large school Canisius Saturday afternoon in a marquee matchup.
The Crusaders (3-2) fought valiantly without the services of senior leading scorer Matt Hart, who was out with a knee injury.
Canisius still managed to pull within five late in the game but came up short. Matt MacDonald led the Crusaders with 24 points while Aaron White scored 20 and Adam Weir added 18.
In another other game involving a WNY powerhouse, Bishop-Timon (4-2) lost to Chartiers (PA) 66-58 in the championship game at the ESPN Disney Classic in Orlando, Florida after winning their first two games Thursday and Friday. Jordan Williams led the Tigers with 20 points (four three-pointers) while Kyle Kobis scored 15 and Dimilo Gibbs chipped in with 10.
A pair of high school basketball games pitting four teams ranked high in the polls was on display Tuesday evening at St. Mary’s during evening two of the MMAA/ECIC Challenge.
Canisius and Olean entered the gym as the top-ranked large and small school, respectively. When the games were over, each exhibited why they inhabit the top spots.
The top-ranked large school Crusaders, locked in an intense struggle with Kenmore West, led just 31-25 at the half before exploding in the third quarter to take command and go on and defeat the eighth-ranked large school Blue Devils, 77-53 in the finale of a triple-header.
Bishop-Timon St. Jude has earned a reputation for having one of the most explosive high school basketball offenses in Western New York. It’s a good thing they decided to play some defense Monday night, because the offense positively left the gym after three quarters.
Timon opened a 47-35 lead over Williamsville South after three quarters before failing to connect on a single field goal attempt over the last eight minutes. Fortunately for them they were able to hit free throws down the stretch and hold off a pesky Billies squad to win their MMAA/ECIC match up at St. Mary’s of Lancaster.
Kyle Kobis led the Tigers with 17 points, including his last five from the charity stripe as Timon converted on seven free throws over the last 4:41 for their only points in the fourth quarter.
You hate to see a place for racism anywhere in this world, let alone sports and especially at the high school level. Unfortunately, it’s being reported that a bunch of girls from the Kenmore East high school basketball team is guilty of long-standing occurrence in which they’ve been chanting a racial slur–and now they’re going to pay for it.
Sandra Tan of the Buffalo News reports that at least a dozen girls form the team have been suspended for games and also out-of-school suspensions as a result of a ritual that has them chant the N-word. Tan writes the ritual has been going on for at least two years.
The News report claims teammates would hold hands before games and chant “One, two, three (N-Word)!”
Chad Kelly added one more keepsake to his ever-growing trophy case, winning the Connolly Cup, awarded to Western New York’s outstanding football player in a ceremony Saturday afternoon at Ilio DiPaolos restaurant in Blasdell.
Kelly, who earlier in the day was also named the Buffalo News Player of the Year, beat out nine other finalists to win the award, which celebrated its 40th anniversary.
“My teammates made the plays,” Kelly said. “I just did what the coaches asked me to do and every day I came to work ready to do what I had to do and that’s what happens. Winning this… it’s a great honor and I’m happy to be part of it.”
One of the most prolific offensive threats in Western New York high school football history, Kelly had a record-setting season; throwing for 3,050 yards to break Joe Licata’s (Williamsville South) 2010 single-season record and the second-most in state history. He threw 27 touchdowns and also ran for over 1,000 yards—becoming the first player in state history to throw for over 3,000 yards and surpass 1,000 yards in the same season.
Andrew Sturtz wasted no time stating his case – on the ice – as one of Western New York’s most well-rounded high-school hockey players. The senior forward scored three goals and had an assist, leading the Kenmore East Bulldogs (1-0) to a 5-3 victory Thursday evening over the Williamsville East Flames (0-1) in the Northtowns Center at Amherst.
The Bulldogs’ final goal, a backhand shot by Sturtz with less than a minute remaining in the third period, ensured a late-surge from the Flames was not to be.
“He’s definitely going to be one of the top players in this league,” Bulldogs coach Kyle Pray said of Sturtz. “He’s got great hands, great anticipation to the net. He’s stronger; I think he’s in better shape this year than he’s been in the past. With all that combined, I think he’s going to be a force.
The most intriguing matchup throughout the St. Joe’s/Timon game recently was that of centers, Reggie Agbeko and DeMilo Gibbs. While the highly touted Agbeko was once again the best player on the floor, Gibbs certainly more than held his own, superbly knowing, and playing to his strengths, while minimizing the impact of his weaknesses. What struck me most was the unwillingness of Agbeko to front Gibbs, or at the least, attempt to force him to catch the ball higher in the paint. Instead, Gibbs was routinely allowed to establish position on the low block with regularity; a position he will not be moved from once he is established.
As I scanned the high school schedule this past Sunday, as I like to do at the beginning of every week, Thursday’s slate of games stuck out as one light on quantity yet heavy on quality. Canisius/Timon and McKinley/Hutch-Tech certainly stood out as important match-ups between good teams, but the game that interested me the most was the Niagara Orleans League rivalry of Newfane/Wilson, for a variety of reasons.
Canisius suffered tough losses last week to St. Joe’s and East (Rochester) that left them feeling rotten, not to mention out of the top spot in the large school poll rankings. Against another daunting foe in Bishop Timon, the fourth-ranked large school in Western New York, the Crusaders were in no mood to make it three defeats in six days.
If stealing were a crime in high school hoops, the McKinley Macks would be facing some hard time after Tuesday evening.
With season-altering victories over Aquinas and Canisius last week, St. Joe’s wrestled the top spot in this week’s large school high school boys’ basketball poll. If Monday night is any indication, they’ll be in for a dog fight to hold on to it.
If you’re a fan of high school hoops in Western New York, one of the biggest controveries in a long time occurred last summer when former Jamestown star Jaysean Paige transferred to play for a school in Kentucky. From the moment the news became public, reaction from the Jamestown community ranged from anger to flat-out betrayal, and even accusations of Paige’s family being set up with a cushy job in exchange for Paige’s services.
“Just when you think you have all the answers— I change the questions.” – Roddy Piper.
Something that’s been suggested to me many times is a post on the college careers of WNY’s former high school players. So I decided to provide a list of any former player currently on a college roster. Those who wish to, can now use the comments section to provide updates on the players and discuss their progress at the next level.
The sense all season long in boy’s high school basketball was it being merely a matter of time before St. Mary’s broke through with a influential, signature victory. The second-ranked small school in Western New York certainly has come close; taking powerhouse programs like Canisius, St. Joe’s and Olean to their limits before falling just short.
St. Francis high school stud running back Akeel Lynch has been verbally committed to attending Boston College since the mid July of last year. However, verbal commitments mean nothing until the player signs his National Letter of Intent. It appears as of Sunday night Lynch has changed his mind and in a shocker, is deciding to take his considerable football talents to Penn State University.
Saturday was unquestionably statement day for two of the top teams in the Monsignor Martin Association in high school hoops. Canisius and St. Joe’s let Bishop Timon, St. Mary’s and the rest of the league know they’re ready for the meat and potatoes of the season to commence after both posted ultra-impressive victories on their respective home floors Saturday afternoon.
Two teams both ranked among the top ten large schools in Western New York capped off an exciting day of basketball at the Martin Luther King Classic at City Honors high school. Senior guard Matt Hart scored a career-high 30 points as second-ranked Canisius held off sixth-ranked McKinley in the fifth and final game of the day, 76-65.
Buffalo Sports Daily has learned that long time Bishop-Timon St. Jude head coach Jim Palano plans to retire at the end of the season, thus ending a career at Timon spanning almost 40 years.
Seniors Jordan Williams and DeMilo Gibbs learned early Wednesday that they made the All-New York State fifth team in football. Later that evening, they took their celebration to the hardwood.
A couple of near upsets highlighted a busy night of action in boy’s high school basketball Tuesday night. Underdog small school St. Mary’s gave second-ranked large school Canisius all they could handle on the road as the Crusaders got 20 points from junior Adam Weir and hung on to beat the Lancers, 54-51 in Monsignor Martin Association action.
It was a stunningly bad night in boys high school basketball for both Williamsville South and North Wednesday evening. Both lost in the semifinals of the Jolly Boys Tournament. South was shocked by Newfane, 65-62 behind 17 points from Justin Harvey. North was upended by St. Francis, 59-45 as Kyle Wagner paced St. Francis with 15 points and held North star sophomore Sterling Taplin to just five points.
Poor Tyler Haden. The Bishop-Timon junior guard was the lone member of the Tigers’ 14-man roster who failed to break into the scoring column Thursday evening. The rest of his team had no problem decimating an overmatched Maritime squad, 84-28 in the first round of the fourth annual Mark F. Scarcello Memorial Basketball Classic in South Buffalo.
Phil Valenti, headed to play his college basketball at Canisius next year, scored 28 points and Christian White added 18 as Rochester-based Aquinas dominated early and held on for a 76-68 victory over top-ranked WNY large school Canisius Saturday afternoon in a marquee matchup.
A pair of high school basketball games pitting four teams ranked high in the polls was on display Tuesday evening at St. Mary’s during evening two of the MMAA/ECIC Challenge.
With high school hoops season now in full swing here in WNY, it’s time to see what basketball fans have to look forward to in the upcoming season.
Bishop-Timon St. Jude has earned a reputation for having one of the most explosive high school basketball offenses in Western New York. It’s a good thing they decided to play some defense Monday night, because the offense positively left the gym after three quarters.
You hate to see a place for racism anywhere in this world, let alone sports and especially at the high school level. Unfortunately, it’s being reported that a bunch of girls from the Kenmore East high school basketball team is guilty of long-standing occurrence in which they’ve been chanting a racial slur–and now they’re going to pay for it.
Chad Kelly added one more keepsake to his ever-growing trophy case, winning the Connolly Cup, awarded to Western New York’s outstanding football player in a ceremony Saturday afternoon at Ilio DiPaolos restaurant in Blasdell.
Andrew Sturtz wasted no time stating his case – on the ice – as one of Western New York’s most well-rounded high-school hockey players. The senior forward scored three goals and had an assist, leading the Kenmore East Bulldogs (1-0) to a 5-3 victory Thursday evening over the Williamsville East Flames (0-1) in the Northtowns Center at Amherst.
