Sure, there won’t be three state champions like we had last year (Nichols, OTC Middle College and Maple Grove), but the 2010-11 Western New York boy’s high school basketball season has been a wild ride, and it’s not quite over yet. Jamestown and I-Prep at Grover have advanced to the state finals in their respective classes at Glenn Falls, and both squads have the firepower to pull off titles.
Regardless of how they fare downstate, there’s no denying this has been a remarkably exhilarating, and balanced campaign that saw numerous twists and turns. Canisius came back from the dead in the second half to upend St. Joe’s and capture the Manhattan Cup. Speaking of St. Joe’s, they defeated then-undefeated and top ranked Niagara Falls in what was the game of the year. Williamsville South’s Joe Licata became the state’s all-time three point king while another Williamsville product, North freshman Sterling Taplin put his name on the map following a coming out party against Jamestown.
We saw several league battles go down to the wire and a plethora of thrilling finishes in the Sectional finals at Buffalo State College. Jamestown was able to defeat Niagara Falls for the first time ever when it counted most, while East and Williamsville South put on an epic double overtime thriller. Cassadaga Valley became the darlings of the Section VI finals while other favored squads simply wilted under the pressure.
We withstood a glut of head coaching changes while another bench leader, Greg Plumb announced after the season he’s stepping down at Nichols just one year removed from winning a State Federation title.
2010-11 All-BSD High School Basketball Team – continue reading…
For any athlete playing high school basketball just months before graduation, senior night is always special. It’s special to hear your name introduced to the crowd one last time. It’s special to pose for pictures with the parent(s) who paved your way to opportunity. Most importantly, it’s special to suit up in uniform one last time in your home gymnasium and create a memory you hope will last for the rest of your life.
To say Friday evening is a night St. Joe’s senior A. Keith Louie won’t soon forget would be a monumental understatement. The final shot of Louie’s regular season high career not only gave his team a victory… it gave them an upset win over the team ranked first in all of New York State.
Louie’s basket with 19.8 seconds turned out to be the final bucket between two of the premier basketball programs in the area. Fourth-ranked St. Joe’s stunned number one Niagara Falls, 59-58 to hand them their first loss of the year on the last day of the regular season.
Down 58-57 in the game’s waning moments, Louie took an inbounds pass, went the length of the court and then used a perfect pick by Connor Rehbuam to slice to the hoop for a layup.
St. Joe’s Stuns Top Ranked Niagara Falls In Thriller – continue reading…
A literal last minute flurry by McKinley high school led to one of the most exciting finishes on the Western New York basketball scene this season. Trailing by a half dozen points with under a minute left to play, McKinley scored five points in the final 10 seconds to tie Riverside and eventually defeated them in overtime, 88-85 in front of a frenzied home crowd.
Riverside maintained a 78-73 lead and appeared to be well on their way to the win before Dennis James hit a three-pointer for McKinley with nine seconds left to cut the lead to two. Then, Dajuan Rutledge stole the Riverside inbounds pass and scored with two seconds left to send things to extra time.
There McKinley outscored what was clearly a demoralized Riverside team, 10-7 to earn the three point win.
Miracle Comeback For McKinley In Yale Cup Win – continue reading…
♦ During high school basketball season, I become quite the connoisseur of pizza, because almost every concession stand has it. For my money, the best school to get good pizza at is Canisius, hands down. Not only is it from La Nova, but it is constantly delivered fresh throughout the games. Pay attention Buffalo State!
♦ Almost every dunk you see at a high school game happens when a player is alone on a breakaway. Everytime I-Prep’s Kadeem Hillman dunks, it’s over a defender.
♦ Niagara Wheatfield’s Jake Hughes has 12 double-doubles in 12 games this season. Against Kenmore East, Hughes scored 26 points and grabbed 20 rebounds.
H.S. Hoops Weekly Smatterings – continue reading…
Bishop Timon-St. Jude was an angry team coming into Lancaster Tuesday night to face St. Mary’s High School. Dropping three close games late over the past couple of weeks put the Tigers in a sour mood and out to prove a point.
Speaking of sour moods, St. Mary’s coach Dan Gill was certainly in one by the end of the first quarter.
The Tigers blew off the doors in the opening moments as they jumped to a 12 point lead at the end of the first quarter and spent the rest of the way on cruise control for the 54-34 victory.
Timon exploded early, getting up 15-4 on the strength of eight points from Jordan Williams in the game’s first five minutes, including a pair of three pointers as Kyle Kobis hit a third to send Gill into a frenzy during a time out.
Williams Bombs Away at St. Mary’s in Easy Timon Win – continue reading…
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.
Nichols has no problem dispatching O’Hara – continue reading…
Are you from the Western New York area, have a talent for writing and enjoy high school sports?
If the answer to these is yes, and you’d like to build your writing portfolio and get your work exposed to a readership that is growing leaps and bounds daily, then we’re looking for you.
It’s time to step up our high school coverage at Buffalo Sports Daily and I’m searching for a few quality writers to help make that happen.
I’m looking for someone with talent; regardless of age and experience who’s interested in covering and perhaps anchoring our high school sports coverage. I want people willing to cover the area’s best games and profiling some of its biggest stars.
If you’re interested, send an email to pmoran@buffalosportsdaily.com
It was anything but easy, but Monsignor Martin Association vs. ECIC Challenge host St. Mary’s Lancaster found a way to get it done against visiting Maple Grove and two-time All-WNY superstar Chris Secky.
St. Mary’s used balance scoring, timely rebounding and a suffocating defense to hold off a late charge and defeat Maple Grove, 60-54.
After holding a seemingly insurmountable 57-48 lead with 2:16 to play, Maple Grove went on a 6-0 run over the next 1:14 to climb within three with a minute to play. But a pair of clutch plays by sophomore guard Nathan Meyers helped seal the St. Mary’s win. First after breaking free down court on an errand inbounds pass, Meyers managed to corral the basketball long enough to call timeout before his momentum carried out of bounds. Then with 21.8 seconds left and the game still in doubt, he stepped up to the free throw line and calmly sunk both to end any last second Maple Grove comeback threat.
Balanced St. Mary’s Attack Beats Maple Grove – continue reading…
With rumors abounding that Thursday morning’s 106th edition of the Harvard Cup Championship Game may be the last, two of the best football teams representing City football in recent years will square off at historic All High Stadium for the Harvard Cup’s traditional Thanksgiving title match.
The first place Burgard Bulldogs (8-1) face the second place and defending champion Riverside Frontiers (8-1) in what could be one of the greatest contests in the great history of this league. If one had to wait 106 years to crown a championship, this game might just well be worthy of such a billing.
106th Harvard Cup Preview: Burgard vs Riverside – continue reading…
Saturday we were fortunate to be able to provide full coverage and live updates from the Section VI football championships at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The game’s were exciting and filled with fan enthusiasm and school pride.
We liked it and apparently you did as well. After a late night meeting with some of the Buffalo Sports Daily creative heads, we’ve decided we want to bring you more high school action; a lot more.
A Call For More High School Sports – continue reading…
The Cheektowaga Warriors used a combination of a punishing ground game and ruthless pass rush en route to defeating Alden, 27-13 in the Section VI Class B final at Ralph Wilson Stadium today. It was Cheektowaga’s (10-0) first ever sectional championship.
The victory was made possible on the strength of the ground game. Cheektowaga ran the ball 37 times and pounded out 287 yards, with all four of their touchdowns coming via the running game.
Their pass rush was equally effective, harassing Alden quarterback Tyler Schodt into eight sacks. Junior linebacker Kevin Brooks led the way with four of them, while Donte Perry contributed two.
Section VI Class B Final: Cheektowaga 27, Alden 13 – continue reading…
With one week remaining in the Harvard Cup’s regular season, it’s already been decided that the first and second place positions are filled by the Burgard Bulldogs and the defending Cup champion Riverside Frontiers. The final two playoff spots will be decided after this weekend of play and currently there are five teams still mathematically alive for post-season play.
Contrary to rumors, all five teams are equally alive heading into the final week of play and as of this posting, all playoff spots will be decided on the field as they should be in any sport.
Harvard Cup Week 9 Preview; Everything On The Line – continue reading…
