The Section VI Class A and B overall champions were crowned in high school basketball at Buffalo State College Tuesday night. Williamsville South is the Class A champ after throttling East high school 65-46. Olean won the Class B crown for the fourth consecutive year with a $@@# victory over Akron.
The South vs. East game had all the makings of a classic but never materialized into a close game. Junior sharpshooter Joe Licata, who’s also the football star quarterback, drilled seven three pointers for a game-high 24 points as the Billies stormed out the gate and blew East away early.
While interviewing Jamestown star guard Carlos Rivera following his team’s semi final victory over North Tonawanda earlier in the night, he told me he was so excited to be playing Orchard Park on Saturday night to celebrate his birthday and try to win a Section VI Class AA championship. While Rivera certainly meant no disrespect to the Red Devils of Clarence, he along with nearly everyone else assumed they would fall at the hands of top seeded Orchard Park in the other semifinal game.
Standing a mere five feet, seven inches on a good day, Carlos Rivera hardly looks the part of an intimidating basketball player.
Rivera may be diminutive in stature but his play was gargantuan Thursday night, scoring 26 points from all over the gym to go with an assortment of steals, assists and body spills as his Jamestown Red Raiders advanced to Saturday’s Section VI Class AA final with a 57-34 throttling over North Tonawanda.
The senior scored 19 of those 26 points in the second and third quarters while the game’s outcome was still in doubt. It only seemed fitting he’d close the scoring with the game’s last three points on a long distance bomb as a Lumberjacks defender sent him crashing to the floor.
For Section VI boys high school basketball, Saturday’s finals are starting to fall into place. Tuesday night saw a pair of A-2 semifinals contested at Buffalo State College and by the time the night was over East and Maryvale advanced to Saturday’s class final.
East star forward Domonique Jackson scored a game-high 23 points as East was in control throughout and eliminated city rival Lafayette, 68-48. Jackson is a much-needed piece to the East squad, who suffered badly while he served a two-week academic suspension. It was just his second game back.
The finals for Section VI Class B-1 are set after a grueling pair of semi finals Monday night at Buffalo State College. After each team survived a tough test it will be top seeded Olean squaring off against second seeded Depew.
Olean (18-2) got there with a hard fought 70-58 victory over Grover Cleveland. Olean led throughout the game but couldn’t put away the pesky Presidents until the game’s final minutes. Size was a factor as 6-4 Alex Moore had 29 points go to with seven rebounds while 6-3 fellow senior Ryan Carney scored 17 points to go with a dominating 19 rebounds.
Congratulations to some of the best high school hockey teams in Western New York, who won their respective division finals at “Super Sunday” at the HSBC Arena on Sunday.
Top seeded Williamsville North won a thrilling 2-0 contest over Niagara Wheatfield to capture the Large School crown. Jake Rosen scored both goals while Parker Gahagen stopped all 21 shots he faced to blank Wheatfield.
In the small school class, Amherst culminated their improbable run with a 3-2 victory over Sweet Home. Amherst entered the tournament seeded just seventh and won the tournament for the first time in 19 years. Alex May, TJ Kaszubski and Kyle Dains scored for Amherst.
“I’ve played in, maybe four championships in my life and I’ve never lost one.”
That’s what Canisius guard Blair Helton, MVP of last year’s Manhattan Cup told reporters in the days leading up to this year’s final between his second ranked Crusaders and top ranked Nichols.
Unfortunately for the talented senior guard, he learned Sunday night there’s a first time for everything.
Helton scored a team-high 21 points but it wasn’t nearly enough for Canisius to compete with a totally balanced Nichols team. The Vikings never trailed after the first two minutes of the game and were rarely threatened en route to easily defeating Canisius 73-50 to capture this year’s Manhattan Cup.
With no disrespect intended for Section VI and their exciting playoff season now in full swing, Sunday night is as good as it gets for boys high school basketball. The Koessler Center at Canisius College is the venue 6pm Sunday as the top two ranked large schools in Western New York square off.
Number one Nichols faces second ranked Canisius in a rubber match and this time it’s for all the marbles. The winner will be crowned 2009-10 Manhattan Cup champion.
The teams have met twice this season. Canisius held serve at home in a squeaker and Nichols won the rematch in a big way at their own gym to end the regular season. The Vikings lost while Ron Canestro was nursing a broken pinky but was back for the second meeting.
Congratulations to former Nichols high school star Christian Laettner, who yesterday was elected into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame.
Laettner joined Sidney Wicks, Jerry West and David Thompson, Tex Winter, Davey Whitney, Tom Jernstedt and Wayne Duke as the eight members voted into this year’s class.
The ceremony will take place November 21 in Kansas City.
Laettner won two NCAA championships while at Duke, including hitting one of the most famous shots in college history to defeat Kentucky in 1992. Duke went to the Final Four every season Laettner was there, won the MVP of the tournament as a junior and was the National Player of the Year as a senior.
After a run of Manhattan Cup playoff crowds that could be described as docile, the faithful from Timon made the voyage to the Koessler Athletic Center and were rowdier than ever. Suddenly the neutral site quickly had the feel of a South Buffalo home game. Fans battered Nichols players with insults long before the opening tip.
It didn’t matter.
Nichols stars Will Regan and Ron Canestro get most the ink and deservedly so, but on this night it was Stan Wier who would earn the headlines. Wier scored a game-high 21 points, including several big buckets while the outcome was still in doubt as the Vikings ended up rolling over Timon, 76-50.
About an hour or so before tipoff of their Manhattan Cup semifinal playoff game both Canisius and St. Mary’s were on their respective sides of a mostly empty gym getting loose. At one point Canisius players Blair Helton, Jimmy Gaines and CJ Coatsworth were taking turns showing off athletic prowess with an assortment of dunk attempts.
The Lancers pretty much stood around watching and admiring—maybe too much.
Maybe they weren’t in awe on Canisius. But on this night they sure played like it. Helton nearly outscored St. Mary’s by himself in the half, dropping in 15 on his way to a game-high 22 points as the Crusaders stormed to a 79-56 win to earn a berth in the Manhattan Cup title game Sunday.
We’re down to the final four contenders for the Catholic league’s prestigious Manhattan Cup. No. 3 St. Mary’s takes on No. 2 Canisius at 6pm, followed by No. 4 Bishop Timon against top seeded Nichols. Both games are taking place at Canisius College.
Stop right here beginning at 6pm for instant live updates, scores and statistics for both games.
Canisius College tonight is the venue for a pair of intriguing Manhattan semi final matchups in boys high school basketball. St. Mary’s of Lancaster will try to prevent Canisius from defending their title at 6pm followed by a rubber match between Bishop Timon and Nichols, the top ranked large school in Western New York.
While conventional wisdom suggests it will be the two top seeded teams advancing to Sunday night’s final, this has been a wildly unpredictable high school season where anything can—and plenty of times did happen.
Nichols, Canisius and Timon all went 1-1 against each other on the year and while St. Marys failed to beat Canisius or Nichols they did upend Timon on the final day of the regular season on the road to finish seeded higher.
It’s one thing to hit a buzzer beater to lift your team at any time— but to extend your season in the playoffs?
That’s special.
Check out what Timon guard Mike Scarcello did yesterday in the Manhattan Cup playoffs against St. Joes. With 6.7 seconds left and his team down by three, Scarcello went the length of the court, got a pair of Marauders defenders in the air—and literally saved his team’s season. Timon went on to win in overtime and the senior guard lives to play another game.
Check out the video clip; it’s what makes high school sports so special.
Cardinal O’Hara was not expected to be much of a threat in their Manhattan Cup quarterfinal match up with top ranked Nichols on Sunday. The Vikings wasted little time making sure no Cinderella story would develop.
Nichols rolled out to a 23-8 lead by the end of the first quarter and with a 34-13 cushion at halftime the only question remaining was how much they’d win by.
The starters got plenty of fourth quarter rest as they advanced with an easy 70-44 win.
Well, at least Niagara Catholic gave them an early scare.
Not expected to hang with Canisius in a first round Manhattan Cup playoff quarterfinal, the seventh seeded Patriots gave them all they could handle early on and even had a 13-10 lead in the final minute of the first quarter.
Then Blair Helton took over.
The senior guard scored just two points in the first but exploded for 15 in the second as the Crusaders used a 23-5 run to turn a three point deficit to a 43-29 cushion at halftime. From there they cruised to an 86-52 victory.
The Manhattan Cup playoffs it’s all about survival. St. Mary’s of Lancaster didn’t have their best game offensively, but the battle tested team of head coach Dan Gill played solid defense and live on to fight another day.
Senior guard Joe Barnhart scored 12 of his game-high 22 points over the final three-plus minutes as St. Mary’s built an eleven point cushion before holding off pesky St. Francis, 55-49 Sunday afternoon.
“Our kids are battled tested,” Gill said. “Some of the stuff we experienced last year in this situation I’m comfortable with them. My kids have earned that right from me and I’m going to live and die with them.”
Whenever Bishop Timon and St. Joes share the floor in a high school basketball game, things are rarely easy. That was certainly the case Sunday afternoon as the two rivals met in the quarterfinals to open the Monsignor Martin Association playoffs. Neither team could settle things in regulation, and Timon used a 10-1 run late in overtime to take command and eventually win, 61-54.
As we’ve seen so many times this season in Catholic school play, the game featured yet another last second finish to get the crowd out of their seats. St. Joes led 49-46 with 6.7 seconds left before senior guard Mike Scarcello went the length of the court and hit a three pointer over a pair of Marauders defenders as the buzzer went off to force overtime.
Today kicks off the start of what promises to be an exciting playoff season of boys high school playoff basketball. It begins Sunday afternoon with a quarterfinal Monsignor Martin Association quadruple header. #4 Bishop Timon is taking on #5 St Joes at 1pm, followed by third seeded St. Mary’s/Lancaster vs. #6 St. Francis, #2 Canisius vs. #7 Niagara Catholic and eighth seeded O’Hara having the daunting task of trying to knock off top ranked Nichols.
Make Buffalo Sports Daily your stop for live updates, scores and statistics on all four games, because that’s how we roll. The action gets underway at 1pm so we’ll see you there.
The seedings are out for the Section VI boys and girls high school basketball tournament, which commences with pre-quarterfinal action on Monday evening.
In Class-AA, Orchard Park is the top seed followed by Jamestown, North Tonawanda and Niagara Falls.
Over at Class-A1, Williamsville South gets the top seed while Grand Island, McKinley and Hutch Tech rounding out the top four.
Maryvale, East, Lafayette and Cheektowaga are the top four seeds in Class A-2, while Olean, Depew, Lackawanna and Medina are tops in B-1.
Here is a disturbing report regarding Friday evening’s Yale Cup league championship game between East and Middle College. According to a report by Keith McShea of the Buffalo News, the game has been moved from East to the Grabiarz School in North Buffalo because of safety concerns.
McShea reports that Buffalo Public Schools athletic director Dave Thomas will only allow adults and media to the game “in the interest” of safety because significant threats from students of both schools had been made concerning the game.
As McShea precisely commented, “This is obviously bad news. An integral part of high school sports are passionate crowds, and unfortunately it seems some students went over the line in anticipation of a huge game. This is not the way championship games should be decided — in a gym with no students.”
When the top two teams in Western New York boy’s high school basketball squared off Wednesday night with a regular season title hanging in the balance, there was plenty of drama to be expected. But by a few minutes into the third quarter the only mystery remained a question of who would win a coin flip.
Will Regan scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in his final regular season game and point guard Ron Canestro looked good with seven points less than halfway through the first quarter as top ranked Nichols completely rolled over second-ranked large school Canisius, 77-54 in front of an over capacity Nichols crowd.
When I say over capacity I’m not exaggerating; Fire Marshals were on hand to make sure no more people would pack into the gymnasium.
If you thought the 2009-10 boys’ high school basketball season has been a wild ride, you haven’t seen anything yet.
The final week of the regular season concludes over the next few days and to say there’s still plenty at stake in the Monsignor Martin Association and Yale Cup is an understatement.
Let’s start with the Catholic schools. Number-two Canisius travels to top-ranked Nichols Wednesday night in the game of the year that will decide the top seed for the Manhattan Cup playoffs. If Canisius, who defeated Nichols earlier this year is victorious they’ll earn the top seed. But if Nichols wins, then things really get interesting.
Let’s just say the rematch was nothing like the first contest. Two weeks ago Canisius traveled to St. Joes in boy’s high school basketball and handed out an 89-52 in front of the stunned Marauders crowd. This Sunday the teams tangled again at Canisius and the result was much more indicative of their storied rivalry. A wild buzzer beater sent the game into overtime before a game-winning shot in the final seconds sealed a thrilling 69-67 Crusaders victory.
St. Joes was in control most of the contest, leading after each of the first three quarters before Canisius had finally seemingly seized the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Aaron Nevins with just nine seconds left and a three point lead. But Steve Moser took an inbounds pass, moved up court and launched a three that went through the net as the buzzer sounded to force overtime.
Whenever St. Francis and Bishop Timon get together for a boy’s Monsignor Martin Association high school basketball game, there’s only one conclusion you can always draw from.
Neither team nor its fans like each other.
Last month St. Francis held serve on their home floor. Tuesday night the Tigers returned the favor. Mike Scarcello’s game-high 22 points led Timon to a 58-54 that was quite spirited both on the floor and in the stands.
The Section VI Class A and B overall champions were crowned in high school basketball at Buffalo State College Tuesday night. Williamsville South is the Class A champ after throttling East high school 65-46. Olean won the Class B crown for the fourth consecutive year with a $@@# victory over Akron.
Standing a mere five feet, seven inches on a good day, Carlos Rivera hardly looks the part of an intimidating basketball player.
For Section VI boys high school basketball, Saturday’s finals are starting to fall into place. Tuesday night saw a pair of A-2 semifinals contested at Buffalo State College and by the time the night was over East and Maryvale advanced to Saturday’s class final.
The finals for Section VI Class B-1 are set after a grueling pair of semi finals Monday night at Buffalo State College. After each team survived a tough test it will be top seeded Olean squaring off against second seeded Depew.
Congratulations to some of the best high school hockey teams in Western New York, who won their respective division finals at “Super Sunday” at the HSBC Arena on Sunday.
With no disrespect intended for Section VI and their exciting playoff season now in full swing, Sunday night is as good as it gets for boys high school basketball. The Koessler Center at Canisius College is the venue 6pm Sunday as the top two ranked large schools in Western New York square off.
Congratulations to former Nichols high school star Christian Laettner, who yesterday was elected into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame.
After a run of Manhattan Cup playoff crowds that could be described as docile, the faithful from Timon made the voyage to the Koessler Athletic Center and were rowdier than ever. Suddenly the neutral site quickly had the feel of a South Buffalo home game. Fans battered Nichols players with insults long before the opening tip.
About an hour or so before tipoff of their Manhattan Cup semifinal playoff game both Canisius and St. Mary’s were on their respective sides of a mostly empty gym getting loose. At one point Canisius players Blair Helton, Jimmy Gaines and CJ Coatsworth were taking turns showing off athletic prowess with an assortment of dunk attempts.
Canisius College tonight is the venue for a pair of intriguing Manhattan semi final matchups in boys high school basketball. St. Mary’s of Lancaster will try to prevent Canisius from defending their title at 6pm followed by a rubber match between Bishop Timon and Nichols, the top ranked large school in Western New York.
Cardinal O’Hara was not expected to be much of a threat in their Manhattan Cup quarterfinal match up with top ranked Nichols on Sunday. The Vikings wasted little time making sure no Cinderella story would develop.
Well, at least Niagara Catholic gave them an early scare.
The Manhattan Cup playoffs it’s all about survival. St. Mary’s of Lancaster didn’t have their best game offensively, but the battle tested team of head coach Dan Gill played solid defense and live on to fight another day.
Whenever Bishop Timon and St. Joes share the floor in a high school basketball game, things are rarely easy. That was certainly the case Sunday afternoon as the two rivals met in the quarterfinals to open the Monsignor Martin Association playoffs. Neither team could settle things in regulation, and Timon used a 10-1 run late in overtime to take command and eventually win, 61-54.
The seedings are out for the Section VI boys and girls high school basketball tournament, which commences with pre-quarterfinal action on Monday evening.
Here is a disturbing report regarding Friday evening’s Yale Cup league championship game between East and Middle College. 
When the top two teams in Western New York boy’s high school basketball squared off Wednesday night with a regular season title hanging in the balance, there was plenty of drama to be expected. But by a few minutes into the third quarter the only mystery remained a question of who would win a coin flip.
If you thought the 2009-10 boys’ high school basketball season has been a wild ride, you haven’t seen anything yet.
Let’s just say the rematch was nothing like the first contest. Two weeks ago Canisius traveled to St. Joes in boy’s high school basketball and handed out an 89-52 in front of the stunned Marauders crowd. This Sunday the teams tangled again at Canisius and the result was much more indicative of their storied rivalry. A wild buzzer beater sent the game into overtime before a game-winning shot in the final seconds sealed a thrilling 69-67 Crusaders victory.
Whenever St. Francis and Bishop Timon get together for a boy’s Monsignor Martin Association high school basketball game, there’s only one conclusion you can always draw from.
