(Amherst vs. Cheektowaga will be epic…again.  Photo by Nick LoVerde)

 

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

 

Monday, January 19th

East vs. Franklin @ Monroe CC

Park @ Rochester East – 6:30 pm

 

Tuesday, January 20th

Timon @ Nichols – 6:30 pm

Kenmore West @ Lew-Port – 6:30 pm

Williamsville South @ Starpoint – 7 pm

Walsh @ St. Francis – 7 pm

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

Jamestown @ Lancaster – 7:30 pm

Silver Creek @ Randolph – 7:30 pm

 

Wednesday, January 21st

DaVinci @ Olmsted – 5:30 pm

I-Prep @ MST Seneca – 5:30 pm

Buffalo Arts @ Emerson – 5:30 pm

 

Thursday, January 22nd

 Middle College @ East – 5:30 pm

Oracle @ Tapestry – 6 pm

Lackawanna @ Cleveland Hill – 6:30 pm

West Seneca East @ Starpoint – 7 pm

Depew @ East Aurora – 7:30 pm

Chautauqua Lake @ Cassadaga Valley – 7:30 pm

Frontier @ Lancaster – 7:30 pm

Portville @ Allegany-Limestone – 7:30 pm

 

Friday, January 23rd

I-Prep @ Olmsted – 5:30 pm

Emerson @ MST Seneca – 5:30 pm

City Honors @ Buffalo Arts – 5:30 pm

UPrep @ Cardinal O'Hara – 6:30 pm

St. Mary's @ Park – 6:30 pm

Kenmore West @ Niagara Falls – 6:30 pm

Wilson @ Newfane – 6:30 pm

St. Francis @ St. Joe's – 7 pm

Cheektowaga @ Amherst – 7:30 pm

Sherman @ Panama – 7:30 pm

Nichols @ Niagara Catholic – 7:30 pm

Portville @ Allegany-Limestone – 7:30 pm

 

 Saturday, January 24th

West Seneca East @ West Seneca West – 3:30 pm

Timon @ Canisius – 4 pm

 

 Game of the Week – Cheektowaga @ Amherst on Friday, January 23rd

– A late January game on a Friday night, between the two best teams in the league, who have developed an exciting and competitive rivalry.  The game that may decide if ECIC III is a shared title or if it's owned outright.  A game critical to the Class A2 seedings for sectionals a month from now.  The Game of the Week.

Back in mid December, round one at Cheektowaga was a wild & epic affair.  The game wasn't decided until TC Brown's contested 3-point attempt from straight away went in off the glass as the final buzzer rang.  It managed to live up to a lot of preseason hype that was generated from a triad of encounters from the season prior, a year that seriously fueled this burgeoning rivalry.  It doesn't hurt that both of these teams have players either.

Last season, Amherst won the league for a third straight time.  However it was Cheektowaga who advanced farther in sectionals, ending the Tigers season in a wild overtime affair to win the Class A2 title – the first in Warrior history.  It was also the third straight win over Amherst for the Warriors, who had knocked the league champs off twice in the regular season as well.

Most of the faces from last season are back for both teams.  Over the last four games in this series, these guys have become quite familiar with each other.  Cheektowaga's Dominick Welch and Amherst's TC Brown are returning 5th Team All-Centercourt selections.  Zak Ciezki of the Warriors was All-Centercourt HM and just eclipsed the 1,000 point scoring mark for his career last week.  

The atmosphere at the Jungle in Amherst will be as good as it gets on Friday.  Tiger fans will be loud, both teams will be proud, and I'll be at the center of it all.  Literally.

 

-centercourt