New York: Nichols wins Buffalo-area high school basketball showdown

The upstate basketball season generally doesn’t kick into high gear until the holiday tournament season, but don’t tell that to the 2,000 fans who jammed Lancaster St. Mary’s on Wednesday night for the Monsignor Martin-ECIC Challenge.

Buffalo’s Nichols school handed Niagara Falls a 68-53 loss — its worst-ever locally — in a matchup of two of the state’s top teams not hailing from New York City. It was only the fourth time this decade the Wolverines have lost to a western New York opponent.

"The fact they have (that record) says a lot for their program, and it means a lot for us to beat a program like that," Virginia recruit Will Regan told The Buffalo News after putting up 25 points. "Last year we were so close (a 57-56 loss); we could have won that game and we were really frustrated about that."

Nichols used a 13-0 run late in the second quarter to break a 21-21 tie and take command. Niagara Falls, which was formed in 2000 by the merger of two district schools, pulled within 44-41 to start the fourth quarter, but a Ron Canestro (15 points) 3-pointer helped get the lead to 50-43.

Regan was 11-for-12 on fourth-quarter free throws in Nichols’ final tune-up before the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Dec. 26-31. Also in the MMA-ECIC Challenge, Class B No. 5 Lancaster St. Mary's scored a 60-54 home win over Class D No. 2 Maple Grove with big efforts from three sophomores. Nate Meyers scored 12 points, Rashaad Rogers added 11 and Jake Denz recorded 10 rebounds. Chris Secky led Maple Grove with 20 points.

* Fifth-year varsity player Aaron Davis became North Tonawanda's career scoring leader with 21 points in a 57-47 win over Grand Island. Davis surpassed the mark of 1,303 by fifth-year NT coach Erik O'Bryan. Davis, a senior, is also the school's scoring leader in football.

* Former Bishop Ford forward and Big East/ACC recruit Kamari Murphy has been cleared by the PSAL to play basketball for four-time defending champion Abraham Lincoln. Murphy left Bishop Ford after participating in seven scrimmages but before suiting up for any regular-season games.

* The New York State Sportswriters Association released its first set of boys basketball rankings mid-week, with with Rice (Class AA), Jamesville-DeWitt (A), Collegiate (B), Voorheesville (C) and South Kortright (D) holding down top spots.

Rice and Collegiate were Federation champions last March, with J-D and South Kortright nailing down New York State Public High School Athletic Association titles.

* In Section IV action, Franklin eighth-grader Jordan Beers scored 40 points to help beat Edmeston 65-50. Beers, who scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, finished 17-for-20 from the free-throw line. Four nights earlier, Sidney's Danielle Gravel scored 40 points on the strength of 10 three-pointers in a 74-70 loss to Harpursville.

Before this week, 15 New Yorkers had won state player of the honors from Gatorade more than once.

Mary Cushman has become No. 16. The Irondequoit senior, who has signed a letter of intent with Maryland, was selected New York’s volleyball player of the year for the second straight season and is in the running for national player of the year honors. The five-year varsity standout owns the school records for career kills (1,456) and aces (237). By the way, Sachem's Nicole Kaczmarski won three straight Gatorade awards in basketball beginning in 1997, making her New York's only three-peater.

* Shelly Collins, coach of two-time defending NYSPHSAA champion Victor, has announced her retirement from girls volleyball after 23 seasons. She will continue to coach softball. Collins also coached the Blue Devils to the 2003 state Class A crown. Her career record is 418-90.

Thursday's wrestling dual meet between Brewster and Fox Lane had to be postponed because of an anonymous threat against Fox Lane in an online chat room, school officials said. Upon learning of the threat from Bedford police, Fox Lane officials dismissed classes and canceled extracurricular activities, including the wrestling meet.  Fox Lane, the defending Section I champ, will host the rescheduled meet Jan. 12.

Poly Prep right-handed pitcher and shortstop J.J. Franco will continue his career at Brown University next fall. Franco, the son of major-league reliever John Franco, was 8-0 on the mound and hit .472 as a junior as Poly Prep won the Ivy League regular-season crown. The New York State Sportswriters Association named him the Class B Player of the Year.

Retired Fairport athletic director Dave Martens was one of 12 people inducted into the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association’s first Hall of Fame class this week in Dallas.

"I felt very honored to be identified with a group of very talented athletic administrators around the country," Martens told The Daily Messenger. "There are a number of athletic administrators that deserve awards at the highest level and just to be a part of them is an honor."

Martens retired in 1991 after 18 years as AD at Fairport. He previously coached at Rushford and Brockport.

* Section IX will hold a vote Jan. 12 to determine whether Beacon should be allowed to move over from Section I, where proposed geographic realignments of schools for most sports have rankled several athletic directors and superintendents.

* NYSSWA rankings in ice hockey will begin next week, and West Genesee is shaping up as a contender for top honors in Division 1. The Wildcats are 8-0 with a 47-7 scoring differential following a 4-1 victory over Liverpool on Tuesday. Senior captain Ryan Michel scored once and added a pair of assists. West Genesee, which already owns a 6-0 win vs. Massena, takes on North Country power Potsdam (2-1-1) in a non-league game Saturday.

John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at johnschianosports@gmail.com.