Aquinas, Fairport making noise in Class AAA: Section V teams in boys basketball rankings

The Section V team that ends up winning the Class AAA title this season will be more than deserving.

Just ask Fairport coach Scott Fitch, whose Red Raiders were the section's Class AA runners-up in 2023.

Fairport is one of seven Section V boys basketball team that will participate in the newly formed Class AAA bracket in the postseason. Aquinas, Franklin, UPrep, Edison/School Without Walls, Rush-Henrietta and McQuaid round out the rest of Class AAA — the state's largest classification which last appeared in 2008.

Of those programs, Aquinas (2022) and UPrep (2020) are the only ones who've won a section championship this decade. Add that hunger for a banner season with the wealth of talent across each roster, and spectators can expect a tight Section V Class AA title race.

"I think it's loaded. It's going to be a really tough bracket, which we love," Fitch said. "Whoever ends up winning it will have a satisfactory feeling that they accomplished something."

Bookmark this: Section V boys basketball scores for the 2023-24 season

The race for a Section V Class AAA boys basketball title

Each team in Section V Class AAA presents a solid argument to contend for the title to start the new year.

At 10-0, Aquinas is the classification's lone unbeaten team and only Section V team ranked in the state, most recently landing at No. 11, and seems well equipped to contend after beating good teams. The latest win from coach Jeff LaFave's Irish was a 60-47 win over Monroe Thursday night. Junior Jadeir Breedlove scored 11 of his 27 points to extend the lead in the fourth, ending the game with an emphatic one-handed slam dunk.

"I knew my team needed that spark, so I just do whatever I got to do to help my team at the end of the day," Breedlove said. "The dunk was a little cherry on top."

Aquinas sophomore point guard Christian McCullough added 19 points, four assists and three steals. Senior center Chris Leysath only scored four points but pulled 16 rebounds and blocked a shot. Four Irish players are averaging over 10 points per game after tight wins over the likes of Franklin, UPrep, McQuaid, and nonleague victories over Buffalo's The Park School and Nichols, and Section III's Christian Brothers Academy.

"Last year they didn't believe in us. Went 15-5. Good season, but this year we're coming for more," McCullough said. "Starting the season 10-0, that's good, (but) we're looking at the next game."

Fairport returns key players from its Class AA finals run in 2023, avenging that title game loss by beating Victor 77-69 on Wednesday. Aidan White scored 14 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter. LaShard Lowry dropped 25 on the reigning state champs.

White was recently named All-Greater Rochester Boys Volleyball Player of the Year after guiding Fairport to an unbeaten state championship season. He was one of five volleyball players who missed early season basketball practices. Drew Sisson, Mateo Palleschi, Sam Ostrander and Nick Smith — a starter who missed Wednesday's game with an illness — have also found their strides after a long volleyball season.

"Aidan is peaking right now," Fitch said. "I think basketball took a back seat until he got it ironed out. Now we're seeing what he's capable of. He's growing as senior leader and wants the ball now."

Franklin (5-3) is a favorite as long as center Terence Thompson is there with great shooters and defenders around him. Edison Tech/School Without Walls (4-3) almost beat an East team ranked high in the NYS Class A poll all season long. UPrep (5-3) has won four straight since losing to Aquinas by two. Rush-Henrietta is off to a 5-4 start under former star Calvin Betts at the helm. McQuaid (2-5) lost a 64-57 double overtime bout to Section VI favorite Niagara Falls.

Section V boys basketball in NYS rankings

NYSSWA rankings and records through Dec. 31.

Class AAA

• No. 11 Aquinas (9-0)

• HM: Fairport (6-2), Franklin (5-3), UPrep (4-3)

Class AA

• No. 2 Greece Athena (8-0)

• No. 26 Victor (4-1)

• HM: Canandaigua (6-2), Hilton (5-2), Penfield (6-2), Pittsford Mendon (5-2), Webster Schroeder (6-2)

Class A

• No. 2 East (7-0)

• No. 17 Monroe (5-1)

• No. 20 Newark (7-0)

• No. 30 Wayne (7-2)

• HM: Pittsford Sutherland (5-2)

Class B

• No. 7 Avon (7-0)

• No. 8 Hornell (7-1)

• No. 22 Canisteo-Greenwood (7-1)

• HM: Attica (6-2), Greece Odyssey (3-2), LeRoy (5-2), Myderse (5-2)

Class C

• No. 3 Lyons (6-1)

• No. 6 Pembroke (4-1)

• No. 8 York (8-2)

• No. 12 Bolivar-Richburg (7-0)

• No. 18 Byron-Bergen (7-1)

• HM: Arkport/Canaseraga (6-1), Batavia Notre Dame (6--1), East Rochester (8-0), Gananda (7-3), Harley Allendale Columbia (6-1), Sodus (5-1), Wheatfield-Chili (5-2)

Class D

• No. 4 Avoca/Prattsburgh (5-3)

• HM: Elba (2-5)

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Section V boys basketball teams in NYS rankings: Aquinas making noise