Three first-round games open the Class A2 championship on Wednesday. Top seeds Leadership Academy, Wayne and NE Douglass await the winners. Here’s the rundown:
No. 1 seed LEADERSHIP ACADEMY (16-4/RCAC Division B)
Players to watch: Dezmere Ellis (17 ppg/6 apg), Ty-Meek Mackie (13 ppg/6rpg), Rondell Watson (14ppg/3 steals), Milton Simmons (6 ppg/7rpg), Davon Brown (10 ppg/7rpg) and Jaquane Reed 8ppg/5pg).
Trend: The Lions closed the regular season winning seven straight and 15 of 16 to claim RCAC Division B title. Moved up a class this year after taking the 2015 B1 title and 2014 B2 title.
Outlook: Open against the winner of the Wilson-SOTA matchup. Skilled offensive team that can produce points in a variety of ways. Ellis pushes pace. Watson is a dangerous three-point threat. Brown takes advantage in the paint when opposing defenses have to extend.
No. 2 seed WAYNE (17-3/Finger Lakes East)
Players to watch: Braeden Zenelovic (15 ppg 8 rpg), Logan Blankenberg (13 ppg, 6 rpg), Billy Thomson (10 ppg, 5 apg, 3 steals and Nick Carmichael (11 ppg, 6 rpg).
Trend: Wayne won its last five games. The Eagles are looking for their first Section Five Boys Basketball title.
Outlook: Play the winner of the Sutherland-Geneva matchup. Of the Eagles three losses, two came at the hands of Mynderse which finished the season 19-1. Wayne avenged their only other setback with a victory over Newark (15-5). Zenelovic leads a balanced scoring attack.
No. 3 seed NE DOUGLASS (13-7/RCAC Division B)
Players to watch: Jiahmere Mitchell (18.6 ppg), Torrence Phillips (14.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg), Khalil Thompson (4.9 rpg), Daiquon Turner (15.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 2.6 steals, 4.4 apg), Will Washington (5.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg).
Trend: The Panthers won their last two games and finished third in RCAC B.
Outlook: Starts against the winner of the Monroe-Greece Olympia game. NE Douglass applies pressure in waves and is active as a team on the boards. Mitchell can fill it up in bunches from long range. Turner does a little bit of everything and does it all well. Don’t be surprised if this group advances to the finals.
No. 4 seed BATAVIA (13-7/Monroe County Division 4)
Players to watch: Tee Sean Ayala (22.5 ppg and 8 rpg) and Antwan Odom (16 ppg and 7 rpg).
Trend: Ended the season playing four games in seven days and finished 2-2 in those contests with losses to Newark at home and East Aurora (VI) on the road. The reigning A2 champs also took the 2013 and ’09 B1 titles as well as the 2010 B2 crown.
Outlook: Opens against Honeoye Falls-Lima. Ayala and Odom force opposing defenses to extend. Can this group play the level of defense that has characterized head coach Buddy Brasky’s team in the past?
No. 5 seed HONEOYE FALLS-LIMA (10-10/Monroe County Division 4)
Players to watch: Dan Hayes (14.9 ppg, 9 rpg, 3 blocks), Garrett Ruff (5.0 ppg, 6 apg), Owen Van Newkirk (6.7 ppg, 6 rpg), Tyler Selke (6.6 ppg), James Segar (5 .5 ppg, 3 steals) and David O’Connell (4 ppg, 8 rpg).
Trend: HF-L won its last two regular season games and three of four. Its only setback was a three-point loss to Brockport. Cougars won the 1997 BB title.
Outlook: First game comes against Batavia. Individual numbers tell the story. HF-L spreads around the scoring. Can the Cougars keep their late-season momentum?
No. 6 seed MONROE (9-11/RCAC Division A)
Players to watch: Rayshawn Boswell (21 ppg), Chris Gibson (13 ppg, 14 rpg), Tyquil Glasgow (10 ppg), Jonathan Jones (11 ppg) and De’vante Mateo (9 ppg).
Trend: Redjackets won two in row before dropping their regular season finale to HF-L. Monroe took the 1982 AA crown.
Outlook: Will play Greece Olympia in the opening round. Boswell is as crafty a playmaker as one can find in Section Five. Gibson does his work quietly. Monroe started the season with four wins. Can the Redjackets return to that form?
No. 7 seed PITTSFORD-SUTHERLAND (8-12/Monroe County Division 3)
Players to watch: Kevin Ryan and Matt Thaney.
Trend: Reigning A1 champions lost their final two regular season games. Sutherland also won the 2008 and 2009 A2 crowns.
Outlook: Will play Geneva in the opening round. Pittsford-Sutherland started the season 5-2, but an injury to Ryan derailed this young squad. If the Knights can re-capture their offensive continuity of running the ball through Ryan, they could rattle off a couple wins.
No. 8 seed WILSON-MAGNET (8-12/RCAC Division B)
Players to watch: Robert Davis (16.6 ppg), Desi Floyd (11.3 ppg 7.0 rpg) and Patrick Phillips (6.8 ppg 12.6 rpg).
Trend: Wilson won three of four to finish the regular season. The Wildcats claimed the 2006 Class A title.
Outlook: Takes on RCAC rival SOTA in first round. Keep this in mind – Wilson finished 2015-16 with the same record and advanced to the A2 finals where they lost to Batavia, 64-57. Along with league games against East, Edison and McQuaid, the Wildcats played in the Penfield tournament as well doing battle with Pittsford-Mendon and Pittsford-Sutherland.
No. 9 seed SOTA (7-13/RCAC Division B)
Players to watch: Ian Jordan (10 ppg, 8 rpg, 8 apg and 3 steals), Justin Brumfield (12 ppg, 5 rpg), Dezmir Phelps (10 ppg 2 rpg and 3 apg), Mecca Anderson (12 ppg, 3 rpg, 2 apg, 2 steals) and Terron Smith (6 ppg, 3 apg and 2 steals).
Trend: SOTA lost its last three games of the regular season. Silverhawks won the 2015 A2 championship.
Outlook: Will play Wilson on Wednesday. Anderson and Brumfield have the ability to carry a team. Will that be good enough for a couple post season wins?
No. 10 seed GENEVA (6-14/Finger Lakes East)
Players to watch: Akim Hudson and Tyler Tyson.
Trend: Geneva defeated SOTA in their regular season finale. Geneva took the 2014 A2 title.
Outlook: Opens against Pittsford-Sutherland. Geneva started the season with three wins in their first seven games. Can the Panthers win two in a row for the first time this season?
No. 11 seed GREECE OLYMPIA (4-16/Monroe County Division 4)
Players to watch: Dan Castro, William Green Jr. and Jeff Jung Jr.
Trend: After starting 0-10, Olympia won two straight and four of six including an eye-brow raising 20-point win at Batavia. The Spartans followed that streak with three losses to close the season.
Outlook: Will play Monroe in the opening round. Young core starts with Castro, Green and Jung.
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