Semifinal – Wednesday, February 26th AT Niagara Falls HS – 6 pm (2) Niagara Falls 81,  (3) Lancaster 53   Final – Saturday, March 8th AT BUFFALO STATE – 3:30 pm  (1) Jamestown 63, (2) Niagara Falls 49    2025 Section VI Class AAA Champions – Jamestown Red & Green   -🏀centercourt🏀

Class AA1   Pre-Quarterfinals – Wednesday, February 26th At Higher Seed – 7 pm (8) Frontier 89,  (9) I-Prep 53   Quarterfinals – Friday, February 28th At Higher Seed – 7 pm (1) Orchard Park 77,  (8) Frontier 61 (4) Williamsville North 62,  (5) Clarence 59 (2) McKinley 89, (7) West Seneca West 55 (3) …

  Class A1   Pre-Quarterfinals – Wednesday, February 26th At Higher Seed – 7 pm (8) Lake Shore 70, (9) Ken East 60 (7) Iroquois 80, (10) West Seneca East 40 (6) South Park 58,  (11) CSAT 51   Quarterfinals – Friday, February 28th At Higher Seed – 7 pm (1) Grand Island 69, (8)…

Class B1   Pre-Quarterfinals – Thursday, February 27th At Higher Seed – 7 pm (9) Southwestern 76, (8) East 50 (10) Newfane 55, (7) Bennett 52   Quarterfinals – Saturday, March 1st At Higher Seed – 12 pm (1) Akron 59, (9) Southwestern 30 (4) Alden 65, (5) Medina 38 (2) Olmsted 54,  (10) Newfane…

First Round – Tuesday, February 25th At Higher Seed – 7 pm (9) Global Concepts 74,  (16) Maritime 30 (12) Brocton 61,  (13) Cattaraugus-Little Valley 31 (10) North Collins 48,  (15) Cassadaga Valley 32 (14) Maple Grove 54,  (11) Barker 47     Pre-Quarterfinals – Thursday, February 27th At Higher Seed – 7 pm (12) Brocton…

    Quarterfinals – Thursday, February 27th at 7 pm At Higher Seed (4) Clymer 46,  (5) Sherman 39   Semifinals – Monday, March 3rd At JCC – 6 pm & 7:45 pm  (1) Panama 68, (4) Clymer 41 (2) Forestville 52,  (3) Pine Valley 35   Final – Friday, March 7th At JCC –…

  – Drew Hind scored 29 points in a 66-41 victory at Hamburg & went over 2,000 career points scored. The senior knocked down 5 from long range, grabbed 7 rebounds & dished 5 assists in the 25-point win.  Here is where I will take the opportunity to tie WNY basketball together.  As I’ve heard…

  Pre-Quarterfinals – Thursday, February 20th AT Villa Maria – 6 pm & 7:45 pm (5) St. Mary's 59, (8) Cardinal O'Hara 52 (6) Park  vs  (7) St. Francis   Quarterfinals – Sunday, February 23rd AT Villa Maria – 1 pm & 2:45 pm (3) Timon 97, (6) Park 64 (4) Nichols 64, (5) St.…

  Large Schools 1. St. Joe's (AA) –  Emerged victorious in a Friday night slugfest with their rivals, snapping a 4-game skid in the series.  The Marauders are Monsignor Martin Association league champions & the #1 seed in the Manhattan Cup Playoffs for the 1st time since 2021 when they won their last championship. 2.…

  – Brady Eick dropped a 2025 WNY season-high 47 points & banged 10 treys in an 81-60 win over visiting North Collins on Saturday.  The career-high total for Eick broke a school record at Silver Creek that stood for 50 years, previously set by Wayne Summerfeldt in 1975.   – A whole bunch more…

  Large Schools 1. St. Joe's (AA) –  After earning the sweep of the defending champs from Timon, the Marauders went on to win three more games in four days, ending with a win at a now full-strength Aquinas on Sunday.  They'll honor the seniors against Park on Tuesday, before beginning preparations for a Date…

  Presenting the 7th Annual Centercourt Classic at St. Joe's  845 Kenmore Avenue  Buffalo, NY Friday, January 31st Session 1 Akron vs St. Francis – 6 pm St. Joe's vs Jamestown – 7:45 pm   Saturday, February 1st Session 2 Timon vs Starpoint – 12 pm Williamsville South vs Nichols – 1:45 pm Niagara Falls…

  – The victory on Saturday afternoon for Timon on Delaware Avenue by 24 points seemed to have some historical relevance so I took a look back through time.  What I found was that the Crusaders haven’t lost that badly to a league opponent on their court since February 7, 2017 when Park came in…

  Large Schools 1. St. Joe's (AA) –  Cruised to victory in 3 outings last week, taking a pair from St. Mary’s, and dishing Health their third loss.  More on why I’ve already moved them back to this spot, below, after losing at Canisius just over a week ago.  The Marauders host Nichols on Tuesday,…

  Prior to the 2018 season, Gabe Michael, who at the time was the head coach at Williamsville South and my closest friend, had a conversation with me about the best high school basketball events in WNY.  As the conversation progressed, Coach Gabe made a declaration…”You should have your own event.”  Despite my initial resistance,…

  – Saturday's victory over St. Joe's marked the fourth consecutive in the series for Canisius.  The Crusaders will now assume the top spot in the local rankings, and deservedly so, as they remain undefeated against competition in NYS.  Trailing by 5 points with 2:09 left in the game, sophomore Jack Cullinan buried a 3-pointer…

  Large Schools 1. Canisius (AA) –  To be the best you’ve got beat the best and that’s exactly what the Crusaders did on Saturday afternoon against their rivals from Kenmore Avenue.  Canisius made it a defensive battle which always favors their style, even though they trailed the entire way.  Two more Top 10's on…

  Centercourt 'Game of the Week' * Tuesday, January 14th at 6:30 pm *   Grand Island Vikings  (8-0, 3-0) Class A1  -  NFL  -  Ranked #8 at Lockport Lions  (7-3, 4-0) Class AA1  -  NFL  -  Ranked #6   Game of the Week LINK   * Centercourt & 2017 Coach of the Year Ryan…

  – I deserve to be fed to the gators!  After publishing rankings on Sunday and settling into some NFL playoff action, I ended up receiving a couple text messages later that night – one asking me if I forgot and the other saying they were surprised about my decision.  "Did you forget to rank…

  Large Schools 1. St. Joe's (AA) – After flying past St. Francis by 30, the Marauders earned a 10-point victory in South Buffalo, something they didn’t even do during the 2021 Manhattan Cup Championship season.  The big week is here finally, so after a trip to Park on Monday, preparations will be in full…

Centercourt 'Game of the Week' * Thursday, January 9th at 7 pm *   Niagara Falls Wolverines  (3-5) Class AAA  -  Independent  -  Ranked #3 at Health Sciences Falcons  (5-2, 4-0) Class AA2  -  Yale Cup I  -  Ranked #6   Game of the Week LINK   * Centercourt & 2017 Coach of the Year…

  – In 2023, Niagara Falls had a 23-point lead at halftime over Canisius, but behind Shane Cerone’s career-high 43 points, the Crusaders won that game in overtime.  Last season, Canisius trailed by 13 points against Niagara Falls, but a 27-4 run flipped the game.  On Saturday afternoon, the Crusaders trailed by 16 points, before…

  Large Schools 1. St. Joe's (AA) – A 12-point win at Niagara Falls is enough for me to keep the Marauders in the top spot, despite a disappointing showing on the road at Albany Academy, ranked #1 in NYS Class AA.  They take to the road this week for a pair of league games…

  Centercourt 'Game of the Week' * Friday, January 3rd at 7 pm * Williamsville East Flames  (3-3, 0-1) Class AA2  -  ECIC II at Amherst Tigers  (6-0, 0-0) Class A1 – ECIC II   Game of the Week Link   * Centercourt & 2017 Coach of the Year Ryan Mountain on the call *…

  – My trip to Panama last week reminded me of a similar trip four years ago.  Westfield was the team I predicted to win Class D that season, so I wanted to look at them & went down to see that at Westfield.  Panama was visiting that evening and I found multiple freshman playing…

  Friday, March 14th Far West Regionals at Gates Chili Class B – 5:30 pm Akron vs World of Inquiry Class AAA – 7:45 pm Jamestown vs Rush-Henrietta   Saturday, March 15th Far West Regionals at Rush-Henrietta Class AA – 12 pm Health Sciences vs Greece Athena Class D – 1:45 pm Panama vs Fillmore…

(Jeson Huff & 4th-ranked Timon have won 4 straight)   Large Schools 1. St. Joe's (AA) – No Nate, no problem when Williamsville East came calling on Tuesday in a 24-point victory.  They followed it up with a road victory on Friday night at Nichols.  The Marauders biggest local test of the season to date…

  Centercourt 'Game of the Week' * Saturday, December 21st at 3 pm * Jamestown Red & Green  (2-1, 0-0) Class AAA  -  ECIC I at Lockport Lions  (4-0, 1-0) Class AA1 – NFL   Game of the Week Livestream link   * Centercourt & 2017 Coach of the Year Ryan Mountain on the call…

  Centercourt 'Game of the Week'   Thursday, December 19h at 7:30 pm Westfield Wolverines  (3-1, 2-0) Class C  -  CCAA II West at Panama Panthers  (2-0, 2-0) Class D  -  CCAA II West Westfield vs Panama Livestream link   * Centercourt & 2017 Coach of the Year Ryan Mountain on the call * **…

(Jamestown's Elijah Farmer)   – The defending Class A Champions from Williamsville South have opened their season with three straight wins.  The addition of Stash Foster coming over from Williamsville North is a significant one, considering the backcourt of Carter Lampke and Nate Wilemski that he joins.  Add the interior contributions from Noah Redd &…

    Large Schools 1. St. Joe's (AA) – Defeated Cardinal O’Hara by more han they lost by at Long Island Lutheran and followed it up with a win over defending Class AAA champ UPrep from Rochester, getting a 26 point, 20 rebound, 4 block effort out of Nate Blenman. Williamsville East comes in on…

  Class AAA (3 Teams) Niagara Falls – Independent Jamestown – ECIC I Lancaster – ECIC I   Class AA1 (9 Teams) Lockport – NFL Orchard Park – ECIC I Clarence – ECIC I McKinley – Yale Cup I Williamsville North – ECIC I Frontier – ECIC I Hutch-Tech – Yale Cup I I-Prep –…

  Centercourt 'Game of the Week' Tom Keenan Memorial Tournament Friday, December 13th at 5 pm Jamestown Red & Green  (1-0) Class AAA  -  ECIC I at Canisius Crusaders  (0-0) Class AA  -  Monsignor Martin Association   * Centercourt & 2017 Coach of the Year Ryan Mountain on the call * ** Brought to you…

  Centercourt 'Game of the Week' Tuesday, December 10th at 7 pm Williamsville South Billies  (1-0) Class A1  -  ECIC II at Williamsville North Spartans  (1-1) Class AA1  -  ECIC I  * Centercourt & 2017 Coach of the Year Ryan Mountain on the call * ** Brought to you by Empire Electric  **   CENTERCOURT…

  – The basketball regular season is 12 weeks long, 14 weeks until Championship Saturday, and 16 weeks long for the teams and myself that reach the state final four!   – Westfield's Carson Swanson is off to a grand start to the 2025 season.  The senior guard has posted three consecutive high scoring outings…

  Large Schools 1. St. Joe's (AA) –  After a lopsided season-opening loss at Long Island Lutheran, one of the best teams in the country, the Marauders returned to Buffalo and blew out McQuaid in their home opener.  They host Cardinal O'Hara on Tuesday. 2. Canisius (AA) -  The Crusaders tip off their season Tuesday…

The 2025 Preview contains: – Commentary – What's New – League Changes – Player Movement – Returning 2024 All-Centercourt Players with statistics – 25 More Players to watch in 2025 – Teams sorted by league, noting the returning All-League selections (MMA, Yale Cup, ECIC,  NFL, N-O, CCAA, Independents) – Coaching Changes – Classification Changes  –…

  The 7th Annual Centercourt Classic at St. Joe's Friday, January 31st Session 1 Akron vs St. Francis – 6 pm St. Joe's vs Jamestown – 7:45 pm   Saturday, February 1st Session 2 Timon vs Starpoint – 12 pm Williamsville South vs Nichols – 1:45 pm Niagara Falls vs Lockport – 3:30 pm Session…

  The 2024 CC MVP Jaiden Harrison Timon, Senior 20.3 PPG / 7.6 RPG / 6.3 APG / 2.1 SPG / 1.0 BPG – Four-time All-Centercourt Top 20 selection – Manhattan Cup Champion – MVP of the Manhattan Cup – POY in the Monsignor Martin Association – Game MVP at the Centercourt Classic  - All-Time…

  The 2024 CC MVP Jaiden Harrison Timon, Senior 20.3 PPG / 7.6 RPG / 6.3 APG / 2.1 SPG / 1.0 BPG – Four-time All-Centercourt Top 20 selection – Manhattan Cup Champion – MVP of the Manhattan Cup – POY in the Monsignor Martin Association – Game MVP at the Centercourt Classic  - All-Time…

  Centercourt Coach of the Year Adam Bennett – Salamanca Over a decade ago, I knew Adam Bennett as the fresh-faced assistant coach at Olean, who always went out of his way to say hello when I made the trip down there.  After the Huskies won the state championship in 2016, Bennett took over as…

  Large Schools 1. Timon (AA) – Manhattan Cup Champions, CHSAA Finalists 2.Canisius (AA) Monsignor Martin Association Champions, Manhattan Cup Finalists 3. Niagara Falls (AAA) – Section VI Class AAA Champions, Far West Regional Champions 4. Jamestown (AA1) – Section VI Class AA Champions, Far West Regional Champions, ECIC I Champions 5. Health Sciences (AA2)…

  Monsignor Martin Association Player of the Year: Jaiden Harrison  - Timon, 12   First Team  Jacob Humphrey  - Timon, 12 Jakye Rainey – Nichols, 12 Nakyhi Harris – Timon, 11 Nicholas Purdie – Canisius, 11 Jaymeir Goosby – St, Joe's, 11   Second Team  Pat Benzer – Canisius, 12 Gionni Zelasko – St. Joe's,…

  Class AAA MVP:  Nick Estell – Niagara Falls   Ephraim Strong – Niagara Falls John Strong – Niagara Falls Michael Taylor – Niagara Falls Ryan Hartwig – Lancaster Jordan Alexander – Lancaster   Class AA1 MVP:  Jaydian Johnson   Dom Gonzalez – Jamestown Charlie Croff – Lockport Caleb Barry – Lockport Chris McDonald –…

  Monday, February 26th   Class AA2 Semifinal – 5 pm Health Sciences #1  (18-3)  * Yale Cup I Champions vs. Kenmore West Blue Devils  #5  (12-9)  * Finished 4th in NFL Health Sciences – Ranked #4 Large School – Defeated Sweet Home to get here – Best win this season – St. Joe's –…

  The Section VI postseason begins Tuesday evening with 5 First Round matchups between Class B1 & Class C. as Medina heads to the Southern Tier to face Southwestern.  The winners move on to participate in the Pre-Quarterfinal Round, which begins on Wednesday night at 7 pm.  Between Friday & Saturday, 32 Quarterfinal games will…

    Pre-Quarterfinals – Thursday, February 22nd AT St. Francis – 6 pm & 7:45 pm (5) St. Francis 75, (8) Cardinal O'Hara 60 (6) St. Mary's 74, (7) Park 72   Quarterfinals – Saturday, February 24th AT St. Joe’s – 2 pm & 3:45 pm (3) St. Joe's vs (6) St. Mary's (4) Nichols…