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.
Canisius Gets Defensive On Timon – continue reading…
“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.
Upsets, Statement Games Dominate High School Hoops – continue reading…
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.
Canisius, Olean Show Who’s Boss In Challenge – continue reading…
The last time Canisius High School took to the hardwood, it was for the Manhattan Cup against St. Joe’s, where they trailed big at the half before storming back to win the Monsignor Martin Association championship.
There’d be no need for such dramatics in their season opener at the Pastor-Cooper Memorial High School showcase. Pitted against a gritty but overmatched OTC Middle, the Crusaders dominated literally from the opening tip, outscoring the Kats 23-1 in the first quarter (that’s seriously not a misprint) and eased their way to a 61-38 victory at Daemen College Thursday evening.
The Kats didn’t connect on their first field goal until the first minute of the second quarter when Brian Brown converted a layup.
Canisius, Hutch Tech Cruise In Classic – continue reading…
Several alumni from the Bishop Timon Class of 1971 were on hand in West Seneca Saturday afternoon to celebrate their 40th year reunion and root on the Tigers as they clashed with Monsignor Martin Association rival Canisius High School.
They witnessed quite a show.
Timon lost star running back Adam DiMillo late in the first quarter to a fractured forearm, but senior wide receiver Jordan Williams picked up the slack, catching a season-high nine passes for 148 yards, including the game-winning touchdown as the defense made several critical plays in the second half to help the Tigers erase a halftime deficit and defeat Canisius, 42-28.
It was the first time Timon defeated Canisius in over eight years.
Williams, Defense Finally Gets Timon Past Canisius – continue reading…
Canisius College men’s lacrosse graduates Adam Jones and Dan Coates were both selected in the first round of the 2011 National Lacrosse League Draft on Wednesday night. Both players are set to join the Colorado Mammoth with Jones being selected with the third overall pick and Coates with the eighth.
The two Golden Griffin standouts are the fifth and sixth Canisius student-athletes picked in the first round under head coach Randy Mearns, joining Mark Miyashita in 2003, Matt Vinc and Dan Carey in 2005 and Kevin Ross in 2007. The number three overall selection for Jones is the second-highest pick for a Canisius graduate Ð Miyashita was the first overall draftee eight years ago.
The program’s first All-American, Jones accumulated 129 points and 98 goals during his career. He ranks sixth in the program’s history in career goals and 10th in career points despite missing most of his senior campaign due to injury. During both his freshman and sophomore season, Jones led all midfielders in Division I in goals.
Canisius’ Jones and Coates Selected in NLL First Round – continue reading…
Canisius College graduate Sean Jamieson has been named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Male Student-Athlete of the Year. Jamieson is the first Golden Griffin male athlete in school history to win the award, which is voted on by the schools in the MAAC.
Jamieson, the MAAC Co-Player of the Year and All-MAAC First-Team selection, started 57 games at shortstop this season, leading Canisius in batting average (.350), runs scored (60), home runs (13), RBI (51), walks (34) and stolen bases (22). Jamieson also earned Capital One Academic All-America Second-Team honors and was named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week (March 28). He also was one of 10 shortstops named a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, an award given to the top shortstop in the country.
Following the 2011 season, Jamieson was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the Major League Baseball Draft. Jamieson was selected in the 17th round (No. 526 pick overall). Jamieson is the sixth Canisius College baseball player associated with the program to be drafted in the last four years. The Simcoe, Ontario native is currently playing for the Vermont Lake Monsters of the New York-Penn League.
Jamieson Makes Canisius College History – continue reading…
I spoke to several people affiliated with St. Joe’s high school including Connor Rehbaum himself, and turns out at the Western New York Player of the Year candidate played the final three quarters last night with a broken nose against Canisius in the finals of the Manhattan Cup.
Canisius won the game, 57-53 after trailing by 14 at halftime to win the Cup for the second time in three years.
Rehbaum said he got hurt on the final play for the first quarter when he went up for a rebound and caught with an incidental elbow in the face. He said it was not intentional and “just part of the game.”
It’s undeniable the injury to Rehbaum, who averaged nearly 19 points per game this season, slowed him down as he played three quarters with cotton in his nose to stop the bleeding. Rehbaum exploded from the gate with eight points in the first quarter but finished with just 12 points. Joe’s was also hurt by center Reggie Agbeko’s ankle injury. Agbeko hurt it on the opening tip in the semifinal against Timon last Saturday and would sit the whole game.
Rehbaum Played Most Of Manhattan Cup With Broken Nose – continue reading…
The parking lot on West Delevan and Main Street was jammed pack well a full hour in advance of the game. Inside the Koessler Athletic Center at Canisius College, fans from rival schools did their best to blow the roof off the place. School chants and taunting of the opposition were as common as a Charlie Sheen meltdown. Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly was among the supporters, albeit a biased on in the stands.
About the only thing missing from the Manhattan Cup final between bitter rivals St. Joe’s and Canisius high school was any drama during the first half as the Marauders dominated their enemy for two full quarters.
Don’t worry—- the second half more than made up for it.
Crusaders Take Down St. Joe’s To Win Manhattan Cup – continue reading…
For anyone who’s followed a moment’s worth of Monsignor Martin Association boy’s high school basketball in 2010-11, this is the way it has to end. The two best teams, which happen to comprise Western New York’s most fierce high school rivalry, square off Wednesday with the Manhattan Cup hanging in the balance as St. Joe’s faces Canisius.
Playing for and winning the league’s biggest prize is nothing new to either institute. Canisius has 11 Manhattan Cups to their credit, including two since 2005 and have won as recently as 2009. St. Joe’s has been even more prominent though their storied history; winning 21 titles, including four since 2002.
Two times in recent years these enemies squared off with the Cup on the line. Canisius upended Joe’s in 2005 while the Marauders returned the favor one year later.
Manhattan Cup Preview: St. Joe’s vs. Canisius – continue reading…
Senior Aaron Nevins showed why he’s one of the premiere players in Western New York, scoring a game-high 24 points as Canisius advanced to Wednesday’s Manhattan Cup final with a convincing 70-46 victory over St. Mary’s of Lancaster.
It will be the Crusaders third straight trip to the Catholic championship game. They lost to Nichols last year after defeating them in 2009.
“I’m down to my last few games and I want to go out with a bang,” said Nevins, who scored 14 points before halftime. “I wanted to step it up but I didn’t really do anything I haven’t been all year.”
To St. Mary’s credit, they fought heavily favored Canisius tooth and nail for two and a half quarters before the talent disparity between the teams took over. On this night and for this season, the gritty Lancers simply didn’t have the horses to play with Canisius for 32 minutes.
Nevins Powers Crusaders To Manhattan Cup Final – continue reading…
We’re down to the semifinals of the Manhattan Cup and come Saturday evening, only Timon and St. Mary’s stand in the way of what could be an epic third battle between St. Joe’s and Canisius, with the Catholic high school basketball championship on the line.
St. Joe’s is looking to reach the Manhattan Cup final for the first time since 2008, when they defeated Nichols to capture the trophy. Canisius lost to Nichols last year after winning in 2009 over the same opponent.
For that to happen, both favored teams and in particular St. Joe’s have risky business to take care of. The Marauders take on the Tigers in the second game of a doubleheader that begins at 6pm and while St. Joe’s owns a pair of victories over Timon this year, neither has been a cakewalk.
Manhattan Cup Semi-Finals Preview – continue reading…
About a year ago at this time, Nichols romped Canisius, 73-50 to win the Manhattan Cup; their first major step towards eventually capturing the Class-AA New York State catholic high school basketball championship. Since then, the core of Canisius’ team remained intact while Nichols was decimated by graduations and a key transfer.
The sides met again in the first round of this year’s Monsignor Martin Association playoffs and as everyone expected, the Crusaders blew out Nichols, 77-49 Tuesday evening at Canisius College.
After finishing as the top-ranked school in all of Western New York last year, Nichols lost their top eight players to graduation, including two-time Buffalo News Player of the Year Will Regan. The one non-senior to be a major contributor was sophomore Stan Wier, who transferred to school in Indiana.
Meanwhile, Canisius has remained a steady force in the league. They finished with just one league loss during the regular season and won a coin flip last weekend over St. Joe’s to earn the first seed after the schools finished tied atop the standings.
Canisius was out in front, 10-1 before the game was 2:30 old and by the time the first quarter mercifully ended for Nichols, they were on the wrong side of a 29-5 shellacking.
Canisius led at halftime, 40-22 and went on a 19-5 run over the first five minutes of the third quarter before head coach Kyle Husband called off the dogs and got his starters out for the remainder of the contest.
Manhattan Cup Playoffs: Canisius Dismantles Nichols – continue reading…
The 2010-11 Canisius vs. St. Joe’s rivalry saw round two Tuesday evening in Kenmore and for now, it’s a draw. The way both teams are looking on the high school basketball circuit right now, there will be a rubber match on March 2—with the Manhattan Cup on the line.
Last month St. Joe’s went into Canisius and handed the Crusaders their only Monsignor Martin Association loss of the season. Canisius returned the favor tonight, defeating the Marauders, 82-78 in front of a standing room only crowd.
A pair of free throws by senior guard Aaron Nevins with less than three minutes left finally put Canisius up for good in a wild affair that saw five lead changes and multiple ties in the fourth quarter alone. You hear the term “tight game” thrown out all the time, but indeed, this was a tight game.
For the duration of four quarters, neither team ever led by more than seven points.
Nevins, Gordon Lyons and Matt Hart were the difference for Canisius, scoring all but five of their team’s 32 final quarter points.
Canisius Gets Revenge On St. Joe’s – continue reading…
It all seemed to be going perfectly. Perhaps, a bit too much.
The UB Bulls (15-8, 7-3 MAC) looked invincible, beating teams by an average of 15.3 points per game over an eight game stretch where they went 7-1. The lone loss was a one-point, road slip-up at Western Division front-runner Ball State. UB even smacked conference favorite Kent State by 25.
So Saturday’s trip to Ypsilanti, Mich. to face the Eastern Michigan Eagles; a six-win team one spot above the MAC cellar, should be no contest, right?
Not so.
College Corner: Sky Isn’t Falling On UB Just Yet – continue reading…
Adam Jones of the Canisius College men’s lacrosse team earned MAAC Preseason Player of the Year honors, voted by the conference’s head coaches.
A three-time first-team All-MAAC honoree, Jones led the Griffs with 40 points, 25 goals and 15 assists in 2010. He led all midfielders in the conference in both points and goals per game.
The program’s first All-American, Jones has accumulated 125 points and 96 goals during his career. He enters his final season at Canisius ranked sixth in school history in career goals and 11th in career points. In January, Jones became the first Griff selected in the Major League Lacrosse Draft, chosen by the Rochester Rattlers with the 38th pick.
Canisius’ Adam Jones Named MAAC Preseason Player of the Year – continue reading…
All five Canisius College starters scored in double figures, led by senior Julius Coles and his team-high 18 points, as the Golden Griffins defeated Marist 75-60 Friday night in MAAC action in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win improves Canisius to 11-11 overall and 5-7 in the MAAC, while the Red Foxes dropped to 4-20 overall and 3-9 in league play after losing their seventh straight.
Coles finished the night shooting 5-for-9 from the field, 1-for-2 from 3-point land and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line to go with six rebounds and one steal in the winning effort for the Blue and Gold. Senior Greg Logins had 17 points and five rebounds, while sophomore guard Alshwan Hymes chipped in 14 points and a career-high six assists. Senior Elton Frazier was good for 12 points, three boards and three assists, and sophomore Gaby Belardo added 10 points and six assists as all five Canisius starters registered double figures in the scoring column for the first time since Feb. 5, 2006.
Balanced Attack Leads Canisius Over Marist – continue reading…
There are only two high school basketball rivalries in WNY that annually sell out its games and even give the JV teams a packed gymnasium for a full four quarters. This year, Newfane visited Wilson and Canisius hosted St. Joe’s within a 24-hour period. Both games featured a battle between top ten teams in their respective polls. Both games had major implications on league championships. And both games ended as these two rivalry tilts usually do, with fans of the winning team pouring onto the court to swarm their victors. It’s the kind of drama that makes winter seem a little warmer around here.
The Lakemen avenged a 3-point loss at Newfane earlier this season and moved into a tie for first place with the Panthers in the Niagara-Orleans league with an exciting 49-44 win on Friday night. With the win, Wilson now has a five-year home win streak against the Panthers that now includes three upset victories, and have won eight of the last ten meetings between the two rivals. If the two clubs are able to win out in league from this point as they are expected to do, they would wind up as co-champions of the N-O.
Rivalry Weekend Wins For Wilson & St. Joe’s – continue reading…
Spots in the outwardly large parking lot at Canisius High School were at a premium Saturday afternoon; to the point a school official stood at the entry point of Delaware Avenue, directing incoming traffic elsewhere more a full hour before tipoff of Western New York’s biggest high school basketball rivalry.
St. Joes, with their fair share of fans inside the crowded Bernard J. Kenney Center, didn’t mind at all.
With an overflow of fanatics that forced some to watch from the outside windows after being turned away at the capacity-filled door, it was visitors from Kenmore that owned the court Saturday afternoon.
St. Joe’s Earns Huge Rivalry Win at Canisius – continue reading…
If you’re a fan of high school basketball, it doesn’ t get much better than this afternoon in one of Western New York’s biggest rivalries resume. St. Joes travels to face Canisius in a key Monsignor Martin Association match up.
Both team are perennial Manhattan Cup contenders and this year looks to be no different. Along with Bishop-Timon St. Jude, these teams figure to battle it out for another catholic championship with Nichols on a down year. This meeting will be for first place in the league as both Canisius (10-5 overall) and St. Joe’s (11-4) are both undefeated in league play.
Canisius swept both meetings last year; winning easily 89-52 in the first meeting on the road and pulling out a 69-67 overtime thriller in the return engagement at home.
Canisius/St. Joes Rivalry Resumes Today – continue reading…
It was a memorable week for the McKinley boys high school basketball team. The Macks defeated Yale Cup Rivals East on Tuesday at home before taking to the road to clip Riverside on Thursday. Saturday they capped a perfect five days of basketball by upending Sweet Home, 69-46 in the Martin Luther King Jr. Basketball Classic at City Honors.
John Black led the way for undefeated McKinley (7-0) with 23 points while Damon Canty added 16 points. The Macks outscored Sweet Home 20-12 in the second quarter to take command of the game. Rashaun Cole was the leading Sweet Home (6-5) scorer with 14 points.
McKinley was ranked 10th in last week’s Buffalo News large school poll but are sure to move up when the updated one is released on Tuesday.
Memorable Week For McKinley Concludes With Win – continue reading…
Bishop Timon St. Jude was expected to receive its first real test of the season Tuesday evening when the undefeated Tigers traveled to Williamsville East. The Flames came into the game with a record of 7-1, including an upset win over Clarence in the Amherst Tournament last month.
For the Tigers, considered this test aced.
Junior guard Kyle Kobis was outstanding, nearly single-handedly carrying the Timon offense in the first half as they overcame a sluggish start on both ends of the floor to rout Williamsville East in their own gym, 72-43.
Kobis scored 19 points and had six rebounds, including five on the offensive end… all before the teams went into the locker room for halftime.
Kobis, Rehbaum Big Nights Highlight H.S. Hoops Action – continue reading…
Bishop Timon St. Jude remained undefeated in boys high school basketball Tuesday evening, easily defeating Iroquois, 69-41 to win the third annual Mark F. Scarcello Memorial Classic in front of their home South Buffalo crowd.
Timon improved to 7-0 on the season and outscored Iroquois and Buffalo Science Academy over the past two nights by a combined 151-67. While skeptics will point, quite accurately to their lack of quality opponents on the early portion of the schedule, there’s no denying the Tigers are one of the area’s most explosive teams.
Timon roared to a commanding early lead as Junior Jordan Williams matched the point output of the entire Iroquois team in the first quarter (nine).
H.S. Hoops Holiday Tourney Round-Up – continue reading…
Canisius made a strong case Saturday afternoon for being one of the area’s best high school football programs by upending Rochester powerhouse Cathedrall Prep, 30-20. Quarterback Travis Eman was the offensive star for Canisius; throwing a pair of touchdown passes and running for a spectacular 80-yard touchdown run on his own.
Other Saturday highlights included a big 49-21 road win for St. Francis over St. Joes in Monsignor Martin Association league play. Grover Cleveland scored a mild 20-16 upset win Cleveland Hill in the inaugural “Cleveland Bowl”, while Amherst blanked Lafayette 26-0 at All-High Stadium.
Canisius, St. Francis Get Big Wins in High School Football – continue reading…
Week three of the Western New York high school football season is officially in the books, and there’s plenty of interesting storylines to come from it.
