It’s a bit strange. Something just doesn’t seem right when looking at the Section VI Class AAA standings.
Refreshing the page might be necessary to make it all seem real.
Niagara Falls is sitting at 4-8 in February. The second number is never bigger than the first in its record. It just doesn’t happen.
Since Niagara Falls and LaSalle merged in 2000, the Wolverines have finished below .500 once and that was 2013-2014.
But here we are.
The season does not end Feb. 2, though.
Over the last two games, the Wolverines have started to figure it out, outscoring their opponents by 27 points.
“We still got some tough games to go, but I think we’re in a spot where they’re all winnable games,” Niagara Falls head coach Carlos Bradberry said. “So I think how we’re playing better offensively now, we’re gonna end up adding some more wins to the record before the season is over. … So we have eight tough games, but I think we have eight games where we can win every game.”
But the turning point for the season came on Jan. 6. Even though they lost to Penfield, 73-65, they hung with the reigning Section V Class AA champions.
It was just the third time this season Niagara Falls has scored more than 60 points, all of which have come in the last three games. But the Wolverines are 2-7 when held under 60, including three games in which they were held under 50.
Falls has four players averaging double figures in Tre Gayle (13.5), Jeremiah Shipp (11.1), Catino Woods (10.1) and Louis Porter (10).
The biggest difference in the last three games for the Wolverines has been their offensive flow and their ability to get out in transition. The team has been unselfish with the basketball, to the tune of 38 assists over the last two games.
“It’s been tough, but … iron sharpens iron,” Gayle said. “Everybody gets on each other about stuff that we should be doing. So yeah, of course, it’s been frustrating, but we’ve been holding our own.”
As they look ahead to the rest of the season, the Wolverines need to figure out how to finish games.
In the win over Bishop Timon, the Wolverines had leads of 17 points and 15 points, but left with a six-point win. It has also extended to games they have lost with the Wolverines squandering double-digit leads against both St. Joseph’s and Canisius before falling.
The 15-time Section VI champions are trying to figure that out as they take on an independent schedule that has seen them travel all over the Northeast. At the end of December, they played two games in Maryland, losing both games and having bus issues on the way there.
This is the third year in a row they are independent after leaving the Niagara Frontier League after the 2022-23 season. Since they left the NFL, the Wolverines have a 31-24 record after posting a 57-10 record in Bradberry’s first three seasons as head coach.
While they have spent much of their season so far on the road, the Wolverines will be home for four of their last seven games of the season. The Wolverines have a 1-3 record at the Wolverena, but they have not played at home since a 58-52 loss to Canisius on Dec. 20.
“We play better at home,” Bradberry said. “We feed off the energy of the crowd and unfortunately with the independent schedule, that’s one of the toughest parts, we don’t play at home a lot. … I think it’s gonna help tremendously just for the guys to feed off the crowds. We always have a great crowd and they’re really supportive, so I just think that makes you play a little bit better.”
The Wolverines season is following a similar script to last year’s with a slow start early before what they hope is a strong finish.
Last season, the Wolverines went 3-5 in their first eight games before finishing the season by winning eight of their last 12 games. It is a trend that will need to continue if they are to go on a run to their 24th Section VI title game since 2000.
“We have that goal of getting to states, and even with our struggles at the beginning of the year, I don’t think anyone lost faith in that,” Bradberry said. “… So I think that us ending the game against Jamestown earlier than we wanted last year, the guys are really motivated to get over the hump this year and get to that sectional crossover game with Rochester.”