WOLVERINES’ HOPES REMAIN SKY-HIGH

The Niagara Falls Wolverines, perennially a power in the Western New York high school basketball scene, again are setting their sights on reaching – and winning – a state championship.

First up on the docket, however, is getting through the regular season. Going 1-1 after their first two games against St. Mary’s and Section II’s defending state champion Green Tech (the first game of the annual Cataract Classic), coach Carlos Bradberry saw some positive things in the 2024-25 edition of the Wolverines.

“Tonight was great for us,” Bradberry said following the team’s 63-49 loss to Green Tech. “We got to see one of the better teams in the state, and how we match up with them. I thought we did a really good job defensively at times but I think tonight proved that we’ve just got to get a lot better offensively. The good thing is it’s only the second game of the season.

“I think our team showed some great resiliency tonight. We could have folded a couple times right out of halftime when we were down 10 or 12 points but we came back and cut it to four. We kept fighting, so that's going to be the key to our season – knowing we'll be in a lot of games like this and not giving up.”

One difference from years past is that Niagara Falls will no longer be playing in the Niagara Frontier League. Switching to an independent schedule, Bradberry believed it would make his team better in the long run.

“Our goal at the beginning of the year was, let's play the two hardest games you can find to start the season here and that's what we did,” Bradberry said. “I want to be competing in games where we can win or lose every night. And for a couple of years, the NFL was a little down and I just didn't feel like our guys would get challenged every night and it wouldn’t prepare us for the end run, which our goal is to get to states every year.

“So I think that by us playing teams like this, we may not have a pretty record at the end but I think it'll put us in a spot when playoffs come where we’ll be ready to go.”

That form of logic is a sound one. Carrying out that plan, however, belongs to Niagara Falls’ players. While replacing departed seniors such as Nick Estell and Ephraim Strong will be a challenge, the Wolverines have the pieces to step in their shoes and perform at a capable level.

“It’ll really be a whole team effort, but John Strong, Trey Gayle and Mike Taylor are probably our three older guys, our elder segment guys who we are really going to lean on,”

Bradberry said. “They’re going to be leaders and score the ball for us.

“We need to get those guys to where they're better defensively the whole game. If they do that, then that's going to help us a lot.”

WOLVERINES WIN CLOSE ONE VS. TIMON

The Niagara Falls Wolverines and the Bishop Timon-St. Jude Tigers helped kick off the 2024-25 season at the Cataract Classic on Saturday, and by all accounts it was a dandy.

The Wolverines (2-1) held on to defeat the Tigers (1-1) by a 61-52 final, but they nearly coughed up the lead before a sense of resiliency allowed Niagara Falls to pull away with the victory.

“We expected it to be a dogfight and it was,” coach Carlos Bradberry said. “Yesterday we were in a similar situation (a hard-fought loss to Section II’s Green Tech) but we just didn't get over the hump. But today we did get over the hump, and we showed a lot of toughness.”

Tre Gayle, a junior who scored a game-high 25 points for the Wolverines and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, was ecstatic following the contest.

“When we played Timon last year, they beat us pretty badly,” Gayle said. “I remember they kept their starters in when we took ours out, and they ran up the score on us. So winning against Timon today meant a lot to us.”

Before the opening tipoff, Niagara Falls held a pregame ceremony in which they retired the number 30 in honor of 1960s star John Hayes. Then the game began, and the two powerhouse programs went at it.

The Tigers began the game with an 8-0 lead but the Wolverines answered back with a 33-12 run of their own to take a 35-24 lead at halftime. However, Niagara Falls couldn’t afford to get comfortable as the Tigers made a critical tactical switch going into the second half.

“We came out and sort of jumped on them early, but Jason (Rowe)’s a great coach,”

Bradberry said. “I knew he would make an adjustment at the half, and he went to a zone defense which we really struggled with for probably a quarter and a half until we figured out some things.”

Indeed they did struggle, as that zone forced the Wolverines to rely on three-point shots from bad angles and were held to just two field goals while clinging to a 39-35 lead after three quarters. 

In the fourth, Timon continued to ride that change in strategy to tie the game. While some teams would likely falter in that scenario, Bradberry knew his Wolverines had it in them to not quit.

“Niagara Falls has sort of been built on that trademark for years – no matter what the situation is, we don't give up,” Bradberry said. “I think we're sort of at our best when our backs are against the wall. When people ask us, ‘Why do you play Green Tech? Why do you play a team that good?’ It's for situations like this, so our guys can be a little bit more prepared tonight than they were yesterday.”

The turning point came halfway through the fourth quarter when Gayle hit a three-point shot to give Niagara Falls the lead, and immediately after a teammate of his created a turnover, passed back to Gayle and he connected again for three to make it a six-point game. The Wolverines then ended the outing with a 16-7 run to seal the win.

“When I hit those back-to-back threes, that was when the momentum changed. I knew it was over when I did that,” Gayle said. “I’ve got to give thanks to John (Strong) and Mike (Taylor) for believing in me the whole time. Even though I was missing some shots, they told me to keep shooting and I did.”

Feature Image by Shawn Turri/WNYAthletics