This scholastic basketball season went from being full of excitement and great expectations to one filled with "what-ifs?"
What if Health Sciences had gotten a chance to play against Rochester East in the state quarterfinal some considered the de facto state championship game among public schools in Class A? What if Manhattan Cup champion Canisius had gotten the opportunity to play in the state Class A Catholic final in its home city?
Could those two teams have gone all the way only to meet one more time in an epic No. 1 versus No. 2 contest with more than a mere ranking at stake? Would one or both have fallen just short of making the state Federation Tournament of Champions in New York City?
Those are just some of the scenarios that will always linger because seven boys champions were among the many winners across multiple sports deprived of the opportunity of finishing their respective state playoff tournaments because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Regardless of the sudden end to the season, The Buffalo News still had to have its pollsters select champions for the large and small school polls.
The Health Sciences Falcons and Middle Early College Kats are the winners for the 2019-20 campaign.
Health Sciences captures its third poll championship in four years and its first as a large school. The Kats come in at No. 1 in the small-school poll for the first time in James Kane’s three seasons as head coach.
The Falcons achieved their status by playing a tough schedule and posting a 23-1 record. They defeated Amherst for the Section VI Class A-2 title and then secured a state bid by beating A-1 champ North Tonawanda 71-67 for the overall Class A crown.
Along the way to claiming the No. 1 spot, Health Sciences also earned wins over eventual Manhattan Cup champion Canisius, Manhattan Cup runner-up St. Joe’s, Section VI Class C and Yale Cup I champion Middle Early College, Class C-1 finalist Tapestry and sectional semifinalists Jamestown, South Park, East and West Seneca West.
The only blemish: a one-point loss at independent Park School (18-6) – a game that if it was a fraction of a second longer would have been a road victory via a buzzer-beating three by the Falcons.
“To finish No. 1 in the large school poll is a tremendous accomplishment for our program, our school and most importantly our seniors,” Health Sciences coach Tyree Parker said.
Parker takes more satisfaction in finishing No. 1 this year than in previous years because this was the second consecutive season the Falcons were bumped up from Class B into Class A by the section’s competition committee because of its charter school status and past postseason success (back-to-back state Final Fours in 2017 and 2018).
In 2018-19, the Falcons went 13-7 – suffering a buzzer-beating playoff defeat in the quarterfinals at eventual Section VI Class A champion Lewiston-Porter.
“We were a small school bumped up to Class A,” Parker said. “We struggled our first year up, but I like the way these young men responded and accepted the challenge. … To go 23-1 and win the Class A championship speaks to the will and determination of our guys. I’m extremely proud of these men and my coaching staff for what we were able to accomplish.”
Health’s 53-48 win over Canisius (23-3) likely influenced the pollsters’ ballots on which was the No. 1 team because both won playoff championships. The Falcons received five of the seven first-place votes cast. The Crusaders finished No. 2 while receiving no first-place votes. Park School, which had won the past two large school poll championships, came in No. 3 despite receiving two first-place votes. Class AA champion Lancaster came in fifth.
Only 11 large-school teams received votes from the pollsters.
Middle Early College (18-6), meanwhile, finished the season where it started – ranked No. 1 among small schools. While the Kats fell out of the top spot, they handily defeated previous No. 1, Randolph (22-2) for the overall Section VI Class C title in their last game of the season.
The Kats ran the table in Yale Cup I to win their third consecutive league championship. They are the first team to go unbeaten in Yale Cup I since Zaire Dorsey's state Class A champion McKinley squad in the 2012-13 season.
"Obviously finishing No. 1 in the Western New York small school ranking is a great accomplishment in itself," Kane said. "We clearly would have liked to go compete in the regionals and then the state finals but the world had other plans. I'll always be proud of our basketball family whether we win or lose. In the end, if these young men go on and take the lessons they learned from basketball and apply them to life that's better than winning any state championship."
Bishop Timon-St. Jude (17-9), the Dick Wojciechowski Memorial Cup Class B champion of the Monsignor Martin High School Athletic Association, finished No. 2 in the poll. The Tigers won their first playoff title since 2001. Along the way, they split the regular-season series with Canisius. They beat defending champion Cardinal O’Hara in the final for the crown.
Class B champion Olean finished No. 3. Class D champion Sherman finished among the honorable mentions, receiving three points.
FINAL POLLS
First-place votes in brackets, public schools classification in parenthesis
Large school
School – points
1 Health Sciences (A2) [5] – 68
2 Canisius – 61
3 Park [2] – 60
4 St. Joe's – 48
5 Lancaster (AA) – 37
6 Amherst (A2) – 32
7 Niagara Falls (AA) – 27
8 North Tonawanda (A1) – 26
9 Orchard Park (AA) – 16
10 Jamestown (AA) – 9
Others receiving votes: Williamsville East (A1) – 1
Small schools
1 Middle Early College (C1) [8] – 80
2 Timon-St. Jude – 65
3 Olean (B1) – 61
4 Randolph (C2) – 58
5 All.-Limestone (B2) – 49
6 Cardinal O’Hara – 39
7 Tapestry (C1) – 29
8 Fredonia (B2) – 21
9 Newfane (B2) – 18
10 Holland (C2) – 7
Others receiving votes: East Aurora (B1) – 6, Iroquois (B1) – 3, Sherman (D) – 3, WNY Maritime (B2) – 1
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April 11, 2020 at 04:00PM
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Health Sciences, Middle Early College finish as News boys basketball poll champions - Buffalo News
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