Large Schools

1. Health Sciences (AAA) –  Big Health registered 3 big wins over Bennett, McKinley, & South Park to sweep the season series with all 3 teams.  The Yale Cup Champions went on to knock off Kipp Charter on Saturday and close out their regular season against Nichols on Friday night before shifting into postseason mode, where the Falcons are the #1 seed in Class AAA.
2. Canisius (AA) – The Crusaders head to St. Mary’s on Tuesday to close the regular season after securing the top seed in the Manhattan Cup playoffs with victories over St. Joe’s & Timon last week.
3. St. Joe’s (AA) –  Took out their frustrations on St. Mary’s on Friday, both for beating them in Round 1 and for the way they left Delaware Ave feeling after losing at the buzzer.  On to the Manhattan Cup playoffs, where Joe’s will be the #2 seed and gain a bye to the semifinals. 
4. Niagara Falls (AAA) –  Strung together back-to-back wins that included handing Tapestry its first loss of the season, serving up notice that Falls is at a different level than our best small schools in WNY.  The Wolverines will try to play on the level of NYS Class A #1 Penfield on Monday and host Lew-Port on Wednesday.
5. Nichols (AA) –  Earned the season sweep over Timon on Tuesday before getting knocked off by St. Francis in the rematch, to close the week.  The Vikings head to Park ahead of the postseason this Tuesday.
6. St. Mary’s (AA) –  Swept Park and followed that up with a thrilling win over South Park before the wheels came off for a game at St. Joe’s.  The Lancers will be the #4 seed in the Manhattan Cup playoffs and first must close out the regular season by hosting Canisius on Tuesday. 
7. Jamestown (AAA) –  Picked up a pair of convincing wins over Clarence & South Park last week to improve to 13-4 on the season.  The ECIC I champs close out the regular season by laughing in the face of load management with games on three consecutive days against Will South, Sweet Home, & at Olean.
8. Orchard Park (AA) –  Closed out the season in style, routing Williamsville North on the road and them sweeping the series against Frontier.  The Quakers will have the #1 seed in Class AA this season, looking for their 1st title after finishing as a finalist last season.
9. Grand Island (A1) –  Finished up the regular season with an 18-2 record after earning 3 more wins last week against Lockport, Bennett, and CSAT.  The Vikings have the #1 seed in their bracket and are off until the Class A1 Quarterfinal. 
10. St. Francis (AA) –  Made it three straight wins after beating O’Hara on Tuesday and then besting Nichols on Friday night.  Frannies closes the regular season by hosting South Park on Tuesday night.  They tip-off in the Manhattan Cup Pre-Quarterfinals against O’Hara on February 22nd.

Small Schools

1. Tapestry (B2) –  Picked up a pair of wins last week, including a sweep of league rival Global Concepts in another exciting game, to improve to 18-0.  The last undefeated team finally fell at the hands of Niagara Falls the following evening.  The Thunderhawks close out the regular season at Timon this week.
2. Wilson (C) –  Suffered their only league loss in the regular season finale at Akron after a win over Albion earlier in the week to secure the Niagara-Orleans league title.  The Lakemen are off until the Class C Quarterfinals on February 26th. 
3. Akron (B2) –  Combined some outstanding defense with a career night from Blake Gerstung to avenge an earlier lost to Wilson, along with defeating Medina last week.  The Tigers have one game this week against Depew and then get to work on defending a Section VI title.
4. Global Concepts (C) –  The best Gators squad in program history picked up victories over Eden, Lackawanna, and Holland last week, while losing an exciting close game at Tapestry.  Next stop is the Class C Quarterfinals on February 26th for the #2 seed.
5. Olmsted (B1) –  Earned a share of the Yale Cup II league title with victories over Middle College & MST last week, and also defeated Riverside, before falling by two points to Class AA #2 seed Sweet Home on Saturday.  The Owls host Maritime on Tuesday, ahead of the start of the postseason.
6. Middle College (B1) –  Closed out the regular season with victories over McKinley and Bennett after dropping a close one at home to Olmsted, forcing a share of the league title.
7. Forestville (D) –  The Hornets have won 8 straight games after 3 more victories last week against Gowanda, Pine Valley, and Cattaraugus-Little Valley.  They have a rematch to close out the regular season at Gowanda on Tuesday before focusing on a postseason run.
8. Sherman (D) –  The Wildcats travel to Silver Creek Monday night and finish the season off with a home game against Frewsburg on Wednesday after improving to 16–2 with victories over Panama and Chautauqua Lake last week.
9. Newfane (B2) –   Five consecutive victories for the Panthers, including a 8-point victory over Medina on Friday evening.  Newfane travels to Niagara Wheatfield on Tuesday and hosts winless Buffalo Culinary to finish up the regular season on Wednesday, before preparing for a game at MST in the sectionals.
10. Salamanca (B1) –  Defeated Southwestern by 12 in the rematch to avenge their only loss to a Class B team this season.  All other area loses for the Warriors on the year were to large schools.  Salamanca will likely host a pre-quarterfinal before taking to the road in the Class B1 sectionals with a win.

-🏀centercourt🏀