CHEEKTOWAGA, NY- It was a day's worth of fantastic action from Villa Maria College at the 2nd Annual Centercourt Classic on Saturday evening with the final two games of the day showcasing some of the area's very best.

Both proved to be full of action, with the whole day truly being a great representation of what the greater Buffalo area has to offer on the hardwood.

We at NYCHoops.net made the trip up to take in the play and here now is a recap of action featuring a number of not just Western New York's best, but many of the top from across the entire state of New York as well.

It was a highly anticipated matchups between a pair of WNY's best, and while it was a struggle shooting the ball in the early going for the Wolverines it was Jalen Bradberry '21 leading Niagara Falls with 30 points as he helped push the Wolverines past a 7-point halftime deficit to grab the 72-59 victory.

For as strong a perimeter shooting team that Niagara Falls normally is, Saturday's date with the Crusaders saw things go in the opposition direction as you have to credit the Canisius defenders for closing out well, but the Wolverines would only shoot 1 of 12 from behind the arc in the opening half which set them in a bit of an early hole.

Canisius would take advantage of the poor start from Niagara Falls as well as Dewayne Vass '20 came out attacking the rim and making sure to get to the basket off the dribble, while Eric Kegler '20 dominated the paint in helping the Crusaders to a 33-26 lead.

There wasn't any panic from any of the Wolverines even though it was a 7-point deficit for them, with head coach Sal Constantino saying that he believed once the guards got going everything for them would end up ok.

"We really shoot the ball well as a team normally so I just told them at halftime that we ain't going to shoot 1 for 12 in the second half, and when the ball does start to go in it's going to energize us and we will get going," Constantino explained.

Nearly that simple, Bradberry was the one who had a relatively strong opening half as he had 10 points at the start, but it was his 3rd that really put Niagara Falls over the top as he went 3 of 4 in the quarter from behind the arc, and once the defense started to close in on him more, Bradberry showed no fear in using his 6'3" frame and getting to the basket.

Scoring 12 in the quarter alone, Bradberry's play helped take a 7-point Niagara Falls deficit and turn it into a 49-46 lead going to the 4th. It would have to be more than just Bradberry though to get going if Niagara Falls wanted to hold on though, and that's where the likes of Willie Lightfoot '22 and Jaemon Turner '20 came into play.

Lightfoot would bury a three from the left wing to open the 4th, and with Turner able to rush out and get quick buckets in transition, it allowed the Wolverines to go on a 10-1 run and take a double-digit lead for the first time in the game and assume control once and for all.

It wasn't the same Vass in the second half for Canisius though as their star guard seemed to be hampered with cramps, and while Kegler still managed to do a solid job on the glass, he was met with more resistance in scoring down low with several Niagara Falls defenders closing in on him around the basket.

While a surely disappointing opening half of play it was as good a second half performance as Niagara Falls could've hoped for as Bradberry would score a game high 30 points, with Lightfoot chipping in with 17 to lead the Wolverines to the 72-59 win.

As much as you would think that one aspect of the game not working wouldn't be the be all end all for a team it seemed that once the Niagara Falls players found their shooting touch everything did start to get going for them with Bradberry even admitting that once his first one fell in the 3rd quarter he believed that the Wolverines would find a way to come out on top.

"The big thing was the three's falling because when we hit three's we score a lot of points and get in the offensive rhythm we want so that was big," Bradberry admitted.

In the loss for Canisius it was Vass who scored 13 points, with Kegler adding 12 points as the Crusaders started out strong but never really found a way to connect from deep themselves only connecting on 3 three balls all game in what was a tough defeat, but a game that had to show the rest of the Monsignor Martin Association that Canisius means business the rest of the way this season.

For Niagara Falls, it wasn't just the shooting performance that Constantino said what made him proud of his Wolverines, it was the fact that they shared the ball on a consistent basis in moving the ball around and making the extra pass time and time again. It was hopefully a sign to come of a maturing and still improving Niagara Falls team he says, a team that can compete and thrive against anyone and everyone in what the coach hopes is a deep run to a NYSPHSAA Class AA title.

"We will be real tough," Constantino said with a laugh. "Bring them all on."

While it was Quentin Nnagno '19 leading the way for the Pioneers in most of this one when Park needed to clinch the game down the stretch it was star guard Noah Hutchins '19 with the ball in his hands making the plays necessarily to help his team hold on and take the hard fought 65-60 win.

At the outset it was Nnagbo using not just his strength in the paint, but his soft touch from the outside as he knocked down a pair of early three balls to help give Park a convicting lead early in the second, going up double digits just two minutes into the quarter.

The outside abilities of the 6'6" Nnagbo's game are new, though according to Hutchins he says he knows it's a part of his big man’s skill set though he also admits that inside there are few who can matchup with who he calls one of the best around.

"He needs to have a double-double every game and he needs to dominate all over the floor because he is the best big man in the area, and he knows he is capable of it," Hutchins said about Nnagbo's ability.

Led by the 12 points of Nnagbo and the 11 points in the opening half of Keonjay Carter '21 it was Park leading Irondequoit 37-27, but there proved to be a lot of fight still left in the Eagles as they went to work in the third to begin to chip away and get back into this one.

Keegan Robertson '21 was a huge threat with his length on the wing in attacking the rim off the dribble, and when Josh Stenglein '19 got going it was anyone’s game as Stenglein burying a three ball at the end of the 3rd made it just a four-point game going to the 4th.

Momentum was slipping away from Park, though according to Pioneers head coach Richard Jacob he said so long as he had Hutchins on his side, he felt comfortable that the result would turn out in his team's favor.

"It's leadership we knew would help us late, and we have Noah Hutchins on the floor so that gives us a huge advantage because of his great leadership ability in games like these," Jacob explained.

Even while Irondequoit was ultimately able to trim the deficit to as little as 60-59 with 2:44 to go in the game, but with Nnagbo and Carter dominating the game for Park for most of the way it was Jacob's leader in Hutchins who went 6-6 from the charity stripe in the final 90 seconds of the game to keep the Pioneers in front for good.

Paced by the 24 points of Nnagbo, 15 points of Carter, and the 12 from Hutchins, 10 of which came in the 4th quarter, Park was able to never relinquish the lead and take down a gritty and tough Irondequoit, 65-60.

It was 18 points to lead the way in the defeat for Irondequoit for Robertson, as Patrick Thomas '19 would add 13 as well for the Eagles in the loss.

The win moves Park School to 17-2 and puts them firmly among the top teams in New York State, with Hutchins saying that he believes the best for this Pioneers team is still to come as they make a push for back to back Class A NYS Federation Championships.

"That's the goal and we hope and believe we can do it," Hutchins said. "We're ready and looking forward to finishing out the season strong."

Olean 53- St. Francis 42

Matt Droney '19 (Olean)- 13 points

Mike Schmidt '19 (Olean)- 10 points

David Bartholomew '20 (St. Francis)- 10 points

Lewiston-Porter 68- St. Joseph Collegiate Institute 49

Roddy Gayle '22 (Lewiston-Porter)- 33 points

Trenten Scott '19 (Lewiston-Porter)- 17 points

Daesean Ashley '20 (St. Joseph Collegiate Institute)- 19 points